About 3.8 million of the 6.1 million taxpayers had submitted taxes as of June 20. – By Caleb Mwikya.
Millions of Kenyans are hurrying to meet today’s deadline for filing tax returns, with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) threatening fines if they don’t.
While KRA has improved the iTax system to manage the high volume of traffic that occurs in the final minutes of the year, it warns that those who fail to complete their returns on time will not be spared.
According to the taxman, roughly 3.8 million Kenyans had successfully filed their taxes as of June 20.
This equates to approximately 62.3 percent of the 6.1 million taxpayers in the taxman’s database.
Increasing Tax mandate
About 2.3 million Kenyans were yet to file returns 10 days to the deadline.
The number is however 22.6 per cent more compared to the 3.1 million who had filed their returns by the same period last year, which KRA marketing and communication Deputy Commissioner, Grace Wandera, attributes to stability of the iTax system.
“The iTax system is currently very efficient, enabling taxpayers to file their returns 24 hours a day, without hitches,” Wandera said.
To accommodate the increased foot traffic, KRA has also extended the hours of operation of its Service Centers and Contact Centers, she noted.
Huduma Centres and Service Centres have served over 230,000 consumers, a 71% increase over the previous year.
Individuals who fail to file their income tax returns on time are subject to fines of 5% of the tax due and unpaid on the return, or Sh2,000, whichever is higher.
Corporate businesses are subject to a penalty of 5% (5%) of the tax due and unpaid under the return, or Sh20,000, whichever is higher.
Multiple Penalties
While KRA is not focused on punishing taxpayers as it encourages everyone to to comply, thousands of taxpayers, both individuals and companies, have in the past failed to file returns on time, forcing the authority to enforce penalties.
“Going by the number of tax returns that we have received so far, most taxpayers have heeded the call. However, there is equally a substantial number of taxpayers yet to comply,” Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, Rispah Simiyu, said last week.
The June 30 deadline applies to all individual taxpayers and business entities whose accounting period runs from January to December.
To accommodate the increased traffic, KRA has also extended the hours of operation of its Service Centers and Contact Centers, she noted.
Huduma Centres and Service Centres have served over 230,000 consumers, a 71% increase over the previous year.
Hefty Fines
Individuals who fail to file their income tax returns on time are subject to fines of 5% of the tax due and unpaid on the return, or Sh2,000, whichever is higher.
Corporate businesses are subject to a penalty of 5% of the tax due and unpaid under the return, or Sh20,000, whichever is higher.
393 instances were resolved through alternative dispute resolution in the fiscal year 2020/21, compared to 914 cases in the previous corporate plan, freeing Sh38.9 billion.
Treasury expects KRA’s aim to increase to Sh2.5 trillion by the 2023/24 fiscal year, up from Sh1.77 trillion in the current fiscal year, which begins on Thursday, with betting enterprises being among the most targeted.
Ukur Yatani, the CS of the National Treasury, urged KRA this week to include the informal sector in the country’s formal tax base and minimize reliance on existing tax levels.
