This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has intensified its crackdown on tax evasion, but is offering defaulters a chance to escape prosecution by cooperating with the authority.
According to a statement by KRA Commissioner General James Mburu, the taxman is committed to guiding defaulters in the process of determining and paying their taxes.
"We call upon those who have not been complying with the law and therefore not paying their rightful share of taxes to come forward and do so," Mburu said.
The KRA Commissioner General added that the authority has set up mechanisms to identify and investigate staff who aid tax evasion, and will subject them to internal disciplinary processes.
"We have set up mechanisms for identifying and investigating staff who aid tax evasion and we are subjecting them to our internal disciplinary processes," KRA said.
Statistics from the KRA statement show that revenue collection has grown 680% between 2002 and 2019, from Ksh201 billion to Ksh1.58 trillion.
August 22, 2019, saw the arrest of Keroche Breweries co-founders Joseph and Tabitha Karanja, who are facing allegations of 10 counts of tax evasion amounting to Ksh14 billion.
Billionaire businessman Humphrey Kariuki is also facing an alleged Ksh41 billion tax fraud suit.
On August 23, 2019, KRA Commissioner General James Mburu issued a statement defending the taxman's recent crackdown on suspected tax evaders, saying that the authority is committed to guiding defaulters in the process of determining and paying their taxes.
