Kenya recorded a 6.7 percent revenue growth in the fiscal year 2022/2023 as tax collection sustained an upward trajectory to hit 2.17 trillion shillings (about 15.3 billion U.S. dollars), from 14.36 billion dollars the previous year, the tax collector said on Friday.
Rispah Simiyu, the acting commission general of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), said tax collection has progressively increased in the last five years, from 11.2 billion dollars in the 2018/2019 financial year to 15.3 billion dollars.
Simiyu said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that the growth was recorded despite an economic slowdown occasioned by an unfavorable global fiscal environment.
“The revenue performance was affected by the slowed domestic economic growth in 2022, which went down to 4.8 percent from 7.6 percent in 2021.
The decelerated domestic economic growth was due to the adverse impact of multiple shocks that affected the economy, including a prolonged drought and international conflicts that disrupted the supply chain among others,” Simiyu said, adding that this is the second year in a row that the KRA had surpassed the 14.1 billion dollars mark.
She said domestic taxes registered a revenue growth of 8.5 percent after collecting 9.97 billion dollars.
Customs taxes, on the other hand, recorded a performance rate of 95.6 percent, with a collection of 5.3 billion dollars.
“Despite overall import values increasing by 15.3 percent, customs taxes performance was in part affected by higher exemptions and remissions, which grew by 39.7 percent, driven by special exemptions accorded to rice, maize, sugar, and cooking oil,” Simiyu said.
The special exemptions were part of the government’s strategies to mitigate against adverse effects of drought and to reduce the cost of living.
The agency collected 37.4 million dollars from digital platforms, with Simiyu observing that the taxes have brought inclusivity in payment, especially from non-residents.
The KRA said it targets to collect 19.5 billion dollars by the end of the financial year 2023/2024 and surpass the 21.2 billion dollars mark by 2024/2025.
The rise in tax collection boosts the government’s efforts to raise revenue to reduce public borrowing, which currently stands at 67.8 billion dollars.
Story By Xinhua
