This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
On September 18, 2019, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Githii Mburu issued a stern warning to county governments over delayed remittances of taxes deducted from employees' salaries.
According to a report by the Auditor-General, county chiefs are holding on to nearly Sh13 billion that their employees contributed during the 2017/18 financial year in Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax.
Mr Mburu explained that as long as the counties fail to remit tax deducted, the employees' accounts with the taxman remain un-updated, making it impossible for them to obtain tax compliance certificates.
"It means that if the employee requires a tax compliance certificate, we cannot issue it because they are not compliant and yet it is not their fault because the money was deducted at source," Mr Mburu told journalists.
Edward Ouko, the outgoing auditor general, also pointed out that governors are deducting taxes from salaries of their employees and members of the county assemblies (MCAs) but not remitting the money to KRA.
Mr Mburu noted that some counties had deducted withholding taxes but have not submitted the money to KRA, and warned that the authority will recover the money using instruments in law if the counties fail to voluntarily remit it once they receive their disbursements.
