The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has exceeded its revenue targets for the year ended June 2022 by KES 148.9 billion. This exceptional performance by the taxman has been boosted by corporate tax, payroll, and value-added taxes for the fiscal year 2021-2022.
Announcing the new figures on Thursday, KRA reported that it has raised a total of KES 2.031 trillion in 2022 against their earlier target of KES 1.882 trillion.
The revenue collected by KRA in 2021 was KES 1.669 trillion.
According to a report published in Business Daily, this year will be the first time for the KRA to surpass its targets in 14 years.
KRA suggests that the revenue collection is consistent with the current economic indicators. The projected GDP for the year 2022 is 5.9% compared to 2.9% experienced in 2020/2021.
“The performance is further anchored on the ongoing transformation at the Authority including the implementation of a high performance culture with stringent performance accountability as well as strict enforcement of tax laws in the fight against tax evasion,” KRA said.
For the fiscal year 2021/2022, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected KES 242 billion from corporate tax compared to KES 218.2 billion in the previous year. This increase was largely enhanced by higher remittances in trade, transport, manufacturing, and insurance sectors.
Payroll taxes, famously known as Pay as You Earn (PAYE), amounted to KES 461.8 billion in 2022 compared to KES 455.1 billion in 2021. The increase in PAYE is due to the recovery of the job market after a sluggish period occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is also worth noting that KRA has recently stepped up its efforts to seal tax evasion loopholes and increase revenue collections. The tax agency recruited over 500 officers countrywide to collect intelligence on tax evaders and used data to track businesses that are evading taxes.