Ruto wants to grow tax collected annually to Ksh6 trillion as he urges KRA to go after Mpesa transactions
Ruto wants to grow tax collected annually to Ksh6 trillion in five years as he urges KRA to go after Mpesa transactions.
The government has announced plans to grow tax revenue collection to Sh6 trillion in the next five years as it embarks on tax reform measures.
Currently, the government collects Sh2 trillion against a budget of Sh3.3 trillion with the deficit bridged through borrowing.
And now President William Ruto has directed the Kenya Revenue Authority to establish a strong and transparent system that will allow the country to transition from overtaxing trade to undertaxing wealth.
The president stated during Taxpayers Day at the KICC that his administration’s tax mobilization philosophy will be hierarchical, taxing wealth, consumption, income, and trade.
“I will lead from the front by paying my taxes. Every company associated with me will also pay its taxes. It will be a fair tax regime,” Ruto said.
According to the president, the country’s GDP increased to KES 12 billion, but KRA only collected 14% of that.
Ruto said a lot of taxes from the manufacturing sector are pocketed by individuals, further stifling the sectors’ contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to just 7.2 percent.
He stated that he expects KRA to raise KES 3 trillion by next year and to more than double that amount in the next five years, claiming that the magic lies in technology and strategy rather than power and resources.
“There are only 7 million people with KRA pin numbers. In the same economy, Safaricom’s MPESA has 30 million registered customers, transacting billions daily. The fact that this opportunity remains unclear to KRA demonstrates why radical changes are necessary,” he said.
“Every Kenyan with an ID must have a pin number,” he added.
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