NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 12 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is set to host its 7th Annual Tax Summit from tomorrow morning.
Speaking when she confirmed plans for hosting the two-day virtual Summit, KRA Deputy Commissioner Marketing and Communication Grace Wandera said the event is one of the headline events set to be staged as part of the ongoing KRA Taxpayer’s Month events designed to honour and appreciate compliant taxpayers.
Anchored on the theme, Revenue Mobilization Within a Rapidly Evolving Taxation Landscape: Global Trends, Analyses & Resolutions, the Summit will feature several engagement panels comprising local and international subject matter experts in the tax, national planning and related economic development fields.
“The annual tax Summit is a two-day forum that brings together the public, think tanks from various sectors, academicians, policy experts from across the world, public sector players, policymakers and private sector players for candid deliberations on opportunities and solutions to the existing tax administration hurdles,” Wandera said.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Mr Ukur Yattani will grace the Summit’s opening session alongside KRA Chairman Amb Francis Muthaura and KRA Commissioner General Mr Githii Mburu will launch the Summit at the KRA Convention Centre, 5th Floor ,Times Tower from 9am tomorrow morning.
The opening session will be followed by a keynote address on “The OECD inclusive framework and its impact to Africa: Opportunities for developing countries”. The keynote speaker will be the Panama based Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), Mr Márcio Verdi.
He will be joined in a panel discussion on the same topic by the KRA Commissioner Intelligence & Strategic Operations, Dr Terra Saidimu, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration Mr Pascal Saint-Amans, African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Technical Advisor, Mr Anthony Munanda, and the Federal Inland Service Nigeria Group Lead, Special Tax Operations Group Mr Mathew Gbonjubola.
Tomorrow, South Africa Revenue Service Commissioner-General Mr Edward Kieswetter will also deliver a keynote address on the topic: COVID-19 Recovery and Way forward: People & Processes in a session that will also feature Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru, Rwanda Revenue Authority Commissioner General, Mr Pascal Bizimana Ruganintwali and KRA Commissioner, Corporate Support Services Dr David Kinuu.
This year’s Summit will focus on KRA’s readiness to reimagine tax administration past the Covid-19 pandemic, developing tax professionals for the future and tackling illicit financial inflows and their impact on Africa’s development. The Summit will also focus on the role of technology, brand awareness, and tax simplification in enhancing service delivery. The three factors are among the fundamental pillars on which the success of a modern tax administration is pegged.
Therefore, the forum will create an opportunity for stakeholders to provide feedback concerning the measures that KRA has already put in place to enhance service delivery.
The deliberations made at the annual tax summits yearly are invaluable to KRA and other players involved in the making and implementation of tax policies. Like the previous tax summit fora, the seventh annual tax summit will provide a platform for sharing tax ideas, innovations, and strategies that have successfully worked in other jurisdictions across the world.
This year’s Taxpayers Month celebrations are hinged on the theme ‘Pamoja Twaweza’ The theme highlights the collective role and contribution of both taxpayers and KRA towards the current socioeconomic environment.
