BAD NEWS TO KENYANS WHO FAILED TO FAIL KRA RETURNS

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has now revealed that 6.3 million Kenyans filed their tax returns by the set deadline of midnight June 30, 2023.

The taxman, in a statement to newsrooms on Saturday, said this number represents a 14.5 per cent increase from the 2021 income year where only 5.5 million Kenyans beat the tax filing deadline.

The State agency credited this rise to a variety of things, among them the early release of P9 forms by employers, taxpayers taking personal initiative to comply with their tax obligations, as well as KRA’s own service support framework.

Collaboration between KRA and various stakeholders including government agencies, community leaders, business member organizations, religious and academic institutions to implement off-site filing support was also credited with the increase in tax filings.

“KRA reminds the public that failure to file income tax returns by the due date which is 30th June attracts a penalty of Ksh.2,000 or 5% of the tax due whichever is higher for Individuals, and Ksh.20,000 or 5% of the tax due whichever is higher for Non individuals,” read the statement.

 “KRA commends taxpayers for turning up in large numbers to meet their tax obligations. This is a true show of patriotism that should be embraced more in the next financial year.”

The taxman further noted that its service and contact centres will continue to operate under normal working hours to facilitate taxpayers who may want to file their returns.