NAIROBI, Kenya, May 7 – Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) have embarked on a joint tax education program for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The move is aimed at encouraging tax compliance among MSMEs.
These include the establishment of tax clinics countrywide, which seek to offer tax services to MSMEs.
KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga underscored the importance of collaboration in addressing tax complexities and ensuring sustainable tax base expansion, with a particular focus on the MSME sector.
He expressed KRA’s commitment to working closely with KNCCI to roll out outreach programs that will create awareness on tax matters and address the challenges faced by traders.
“We have a committed focus on tackling matters of tax complexity,” said Wattanga.
On his part, KNCCI president Erick Rutto lauded the taxman for leveraging technology to streamline tax processes and enhance compliance.
He committed to KNCCI’s working closely with KRA to empower MSMEs with the knowledge, resources, and support needed to thrive in the evolving business landscape.
The taxman has previously engaged in aggressive tax compliance mechanisms in a bid to ensure compliance and expand the tax base.
According to KRA, MSMEs, which are estimated to employ about 15 million people, accounting for 83 percent of the country’s total Labour force, have great tax potential and should be facilitated to uphold compliance.
“One of the initiatives under KRA’s tax base expansion Programme is netting the informal sector into the tax bracket, the majority of whom are the MSMEs. This, therefore, informs the need to design strategies and policy interventions to enable KRA to tap this sector into the tax bracket,” added Wattaga earlier.
