This archive report was first published on 17 August 2019.
Published on August 17, 2019, Kenya's government is working on a policy to tax online streaming services such as YouTube and Netflix.
Communications Authority director-general Francis Wangusi said the ICT ministry is in the final stages of developing the framework that will target foreign online streaming media services with taxes.
The new framework will require over-the-top services (OTT) to declare the income they derive from Kenyan consumers.
Wangusi claimed that online content providers exploit the Kenyan industry yet the government and artistes do not benefit from them.
“Many countries especially developed ones have policies that guide these services, and that is where we are heading to as a country,” Wangusi said as quoted by Business Daily.
He also stated that the new framework will give the government powers to shut down media services providers that flout the rules.
Additionally, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced plans to introduce tax obligations for app developers trading in Kenya.
The taxes will affect apps with in-app purchases, those that sell goods and services, and those that require users to pay before downloading.
