How the taxman has cornered smartphone dealers in Kenya

BDSMARTPHONE

Many young Kenyans have acquired high-end smartphones by paying for them in instalments. 

Photo credit: Shutterstock

A smartphone stock-out looms in Kenya following a crackdown by the government through a new cargo consolidation policy that has seen the taxman net eight times what it was collecting before verification.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on June 1 started a 100 percent check of imports to enable payment of tax based on the transaction value of the cargo as opposed to the rate of Sh200 per kilogramme.

PAYE Tax Calculator

Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.