This archive report was first published on 10 July 2020.
On July 10, 2020, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced its plan to enhance automation of its systems to raise revenue collection and seal corruption loopholes.
According to Commissioner-General James Mburu, the taxman targets to collect Sh1.6 trillion this financial year, with automation supporting efforts to increase the tax base, including tapping into the digital economy that has grown as a result of Covid-19.
“Integration with other critical information databases will facilitate follow up of the money and hence bring to taxes income that may not have been declared,” Mburu said.
The KRA has deployed over 12,000 electronic seals for regional cargo tracking to address the dumping of transit cargo, reducing human interactions blamed for among others, graft and low revenue collection.
The agency also plans to implement an online corruption reporting system targeted at staff at the agency, following the firing or prosecution of some staff due to corruption and unexplained wealth.
Over 15 staff members have been sacked for failing to meet revenue targets, and KRA has received an additional Sh10 billion budget allocation to enable it fight against tax cheats, allowing it to acquire equipment and hire more staff, especially enforcement and compliance workers.
Furthermore, KRA has started collecting revenue on behalf of county governments, which will open another revenue stream for the agency.
