From Friday, the taxman will ask all corporate tenants, as well as property agents to withhold 10 percent of all payments to their landlords per month, to be remitted as tax/XINHUA-File
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 30 – The deadline following an amnesty by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for landlords to declare rental income and pay taxes expires Thursday.
The amnesty was extended as KRA sought to bring on board 20,000 new landlords who were expected to pay at least Sh3 billion in revenue.
KRA sent tax compliance notices to more than 60,000 landlords across the country and is expected to conduct a countrywide crackdown on those who will have failed to file returns by Thursday’s deadline.
In extreme cases, the KRA could take money directly from the defaulters’ bank accounts to settle their debts or even seize and auction their property.
From Friday, the taxman will ask all corporate tenants, as well as property agents to withhold 10 percent of all payments to their landlords per month, to be remitted as tax.
Rental tax, which was introduced by the Treasury in the 2015 Budget and is charged at a flat rate of 10 percent, came into effect in January this year.
Landlords were then given an amnesty up to June 30 to fully disclose taxes due since January.
Those who have filed their returns and have correctly paid all taxes owed from January will enjoy a waiver from all taxes and interest accrued from 2013 and prior years.
At the moment, KRA has 20,200 landlords in its database and expects to recruit 5,000 more this tax season.
KRA also warned that the amnesty deadline will not be extended.
