NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 5 – Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has surpassed its October revenue target by Sh12 billion after collecting Sh154 billion against the Sh142 billion mark.
The Authority’s Commissioner General Githii Mburu says the upward revenue trajectory in the second quarter is reflective of a 23.2 percent growth.
“The sustained strong performance is a reflection of the improving global economic environment as well as the implementation of revenue enhancement initiatives by the Authority,” he said.
The agency surpassed its July-September 2021 target of Sh461.6 billion by Sh15.053 billion, recording a 30 percent growth.
This implies that cumulatively KRA realized collections of Sh631.090 billion for the period July – October 2021 against a target of Sh603.939 billion, translating to a performance rate of 104.5 percent, a growth of 28.3 percent, and a surplus of Sh27 billion.
During the month under review, Customs and Border Control (C&BC) exhibited an excellent performance after collecting Sh57.374 billion against a set target of Sh51.200 billion reflecting a performance rate of 112.1 percent and a surplus of Sh6 billion.
Domestic Taxes recorded a performance rate of 106.5 percent with a collection of Sh96.616 billion against a target of Sh90.700 billion recording a surplus of Sh5.9 billion.
PAYE registered a collection of Sh37.001 billion against a target of Sh36.462 billion registering a performance of 101.5 percent.
Kenya’s tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio currently stands at 13.8percent, indicating the need to continue enhancing tax collection and reducing tax expenditure in the form of exemptions and incentives to achieve the desired rate of over 20 percent.
Kenya’s tax gap remains high (45percent for VAT as reported by IMF in 2017). Indicating the need to sustain our tax base expansion efforts and upscaling of the fight against tax evasion and illicit trade.
