Withholding tax is no longer tenable in Kenya

In presenting the Budget Policy Statement, Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury Henry Rotich was cautious about raising tax rates, saying that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) needs to do a lot more in ensuring that the revenue leakage is minimised. On this basis, KRA’s revenue target for the financial year 2016-17 has been set at Sh1.3 trillion.

Despite not meeting its revenue target in the recent past, and in some cases missing the target marginally, KRA has done a commendable job. Picture this: in 2002-03, the total revenue collection was Sh185 billion.