How KRA and Kisumu County plan to increase annual tax collection by Sh3.8 billion

The Kenya Revenue Authority has partnered with the leadership of Kisumu County, in efforts aimed at increasing the country’s revenue collection by Sh3.8 billion.

In a statement by KRA on Thursday evening, KRA Commissioner General Mr Humphrey Wattanga and Kisumu County Governor Prof Anyang Nyongo agreed to unlock a Sh4 billion revenue collection annually.

If successful, this will be more than double the increase from the current Sh1.2 billion.

“Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has agreed to partner with the County Government of Kisumu to enhance the county’s own-source revenue collection. The partnership is aimed at enabling the county to realise its potential to collect Sh 4 Billion annually from the current revenue collection of Sh1.2 Billion.” The statement reads.

 According to Wattanga, the KRA boss the taxman will support the county through capacity building and aligning their tax processes.

KRA also plans to partner with the county to identify and activate various revenue streams and tap them into the revenue basket.

The Authority will participate in planning, forecasting of revenue targets, monitoring and accounting for revenue collected. Mr Wattanga said that KRA data shows the county has the prospective to collect much more and reiterated that this can be achieved if correct structures are established and maintained.

He said that KRA is ready to support the county and urged them to review its processes and embrace technology including a cashless system, to enhance tax compliance and seal revenue loopholes.

Mr Wattanga said that KRA has over time adopted these strategies which have subsequently boosted the collection of taxes.

The Governor appreciated the working relationship between KRA and the county and promised that his administration is committed to expanding its revenue base and enhancing revenue collection to support the county’s development agenda and services.

He noted that the county has come a long way as far as revenue collection is concerned and the implementation of the Electronic Revenue platform has boosted revenue. Prof Nyongo said that the collection is bound to grow even higher following the implementation cashless payment platform and the partnership with Safaricom in the implementation of tax system.

KRA will also support the county in the realization of the Greening Kisumu Initiative. This is after the Governor pledged to allocate KRA five hectares of land in the Mambo Leo area, where the Authority will plant trees.

KRA will also set ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED INTERNAL up Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) help desk at the Mambo Leo area to support the business community in the area to uphold compliance.

The County Government will also allocate space for KRA to plant trees at Taifa Park. The tree planting is part of the Presidential initiative to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 aimed at restoring 5.1 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes in the country.