Betting firms protest over law on taxes

Betting companies have moved to the High Court complaining that the current law on taxes governing the industry is unconstitutional.

In a case filed by lawyer Robert Macharia, the Association of Gaming Operators argues that the tax law under the Finance Act of 2015 has made it difficult for them to withhold tax from foreigners, who are betting online, which is illegal as they do not have Kenya Revenue Authority pin numbers.

"The  said law requires gaming operators to withhold tax from foreign nationals, who are not ordinarily resident in Kenya, yet these nationals are not currently being issued with PIN certificates; making it illegal to withhold any tax from them since there is no way one can access the i-tax portal without a pin," Justice Mumbi Ngugi was  told Thursday.

Macharia  said the law in contention has criminalised the gaming industry for actions that they do not have control over. "Unless the said law is suspended pending the hearing and determination of the petition herewith, the petitioner's members will close shop, leading to loss of revenue and employment," he said.

The lawyer further argued that it was against the rights of the players to force them to reveal their PIN numbers for taxation.

The association wants the court to suspend the contentious clauses in the Act. The case will be heard on January 12.