Now you can correct tax returns omissions at no penalty

If in the last five years you have omitted some obligations in your tax returns, there is a window of opportunity to redeem yourself.

This is after Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani introduced a voluntary disclosure programme that will allow Kenyans who, in the last five years, may have inadvertently made omissions in their tax returns to voluntarily disclose such omission and pay the tax due.

This programme is aimed at improving tax compliance and will run for three years, Yatani said on Thursday when he read his Budget.

“In order to encourage uptake of this programme, I further propose to grant relief for penalties and interest in respect of the tax disclosed after payment of the principal tax,” Yatani said.

The amendment of the Tax Procedure Act is aimed at enhancing tax revenue collection by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) through improved tax administration and compliance.

Initially, Treasury had an amnesty programme that ended in the last financial year which exempted Kenyans who had stashed their money abroad from penalty when they returned it to the country