This archive report was first published on 29 June 2020.
On June 29, 2020, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced the establishment of a special unit to track digital revenues, as part of its efforts to boost tax collection in a depressed economy.
The new unit aims to facilitate taxpayers in the digital sector in determining and accounting for taxes, ensuring that they pay their fair share of taxes.
According to Caxton Masudi, deputy commissioner in charge of policy and domestic taxes, the unit will use transaction tracers and data-driven detection to tax multinationals and digital businesses.
The digital tax targets revenues generated by technology firms that use the Internet to market and sell products, and includes downloadable products such as mobile applications, e-books, and movies, as well as subscription-based media like journals, news, magazines, and online gaming.
The taxman has also imposed a levy of 1.5 percent on the value of digital transactions, and is looking to tax people who buy goods and services online, as outlined in the draft Value Added Tax (Digital Marketplace Supply) Regulations 2020.
