Tax collections up Sh32.6bn in April

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh32.6 billion more or 22.63 per cent in taxes and levies in April compared with a year ago on the back of increased compliance and debt recovery initiatives.

Revenue receipts last month amounted to Sh176.66 billion compared with Sh144.06 billion in April 2020. The taxman said the period was marked with gradual economic recovery compared with the same month last year.

The collections — taxes and agency fees and levies such as Road Maintenance Levy and Petroleum Development Fund—exceeded the Sh170.19 billion revised target for April by 3.8 per cent.

This marked the fifth month in a row that the KRA has outperformed monthly goals.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in April restricted movement in and out of the five key counties (including Nairobi) and lengthened night-time curfew by two hours to start from 8pm and ordered closure of bars, churches and in-person meetings to stem the third wave of Covid-19 infections.

However, the measures were less devastating than in April last year when the nighttime curfew was longer, from 7pm to 4am, while schools, bars and restaurants had been completely shut.

KRA attributed the performance to “sustained implementation of compliance efforts, revenue enhancement initiatives and improved service delivery to taxpayers, which has led to improved voluntary compliance”. 

“Additionally, the performance is also attributed to enhanced active surveillance and enforcement, which has been supported by KRA’s investment in technology,” Commissioner-General Githii Mburu said in the statement on Monday.

Custom duty collections — largely taxes on imports and exports— outperformed the target for the fifth straight month, exceeded the Sh48.15 billion April goal by 12.1 percent to Sh54 billion.

Domestic taxes— income, excise and value added tax — amounted to Sh122.24 billion, marginally exceeding the Sh121.62 billion target on account of increased quarterly corporate income payouts.

Corporation taxes, whose first installment for most firms fall due on April 20, surpassed the target for April by 16.9 percent to Sh39.95 billion, while payroll taxes missed the target by 1.5 percent to Sh36.95 billion.