NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 18 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has insisted that Members of Parliament will have to pay taxes on their salaries under the new Constitution.
Without divulging much detail, KRA Commissioner General Michael Waweru was adamant that the legislators would soon be obligated to have their perks taxed.
He however did not give a timeline of when this would take effect.
"We will tax them. The MPs will pay taxes just give us time," Mr Waweru insisted when questioned by journalists on Monday.
This latest pronouncement comes barely four months after MPs struck a deal with President Kibaki that would allow them to continue enjoying tax-free benefits until 2012.
The notice from the Commissioner General is not expected to resonate with the lawmakers, but is likely to go down well with the general public who have long complained that MPs needed to pay taxes.
The government relies heavily on tax collection to raise resources used in development.
With the creation of county governments, KRA will be under pressure to increase the amount collected through taxation with 15 percent of total collections going towards regional development.
The CG was however confident the authority would be able to meet its targets sighting a 13 percent monthly growth rate of tax collected in the first quarter of the 2010/2011 financial year.
"I can guarantee you that KRA will be in a position to raise revenue as and when we are required to do so as and when we are required when and if new taxation measures are announced by the Ministry of Finance," he said.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the KRA Tax Week.
About The Author
