Kenya Revenue Authority has surpassed its revenue target for the first quarter of the financial year by Sh14.9 billion as businesses continue to defy Covid19 drawbacks.
The taxman collected Sh476.7 billion between July – September against a target of Sh461.7 3 billion.
"The performance reflects a sustained revenue growth in the first three months of the year, with a performance rate of 103.2 per cent and growth of 30 per cent," the taxman said in a statement by Commissioner General Githii Mburu.
He said KRA would eye more revenue going forward through "enhanced scanning and intelligence -led verification of import cargo.""KRA will also intensify its fight against tax evasion to ensure that no revenue is lost," Mburu said.
The KRA boss said the measures, among others, "will continue driving the good performance in revenue collection.""KRA appreciates compliant taxpayers for being resilient and honouring their tax obligations," Mburu said.
The taxman says compliant taxpayers have enabled it collect over 93 per cent of the exchequer revenue every year.
KRA surpassed its July 2021 revenue target by Sh311 million in the Sh152.9 billion collected against a target of Sh152.5 billion.
In August, the taxman netted Sh138.9 billion and Sh184 billion in September. A number of tax measures in the 2021 Finance Bill kicked in on September 1.
"The good revenue performance is a reflection of improving macro-economic environment, relaxation of Covid-19 containment measures, and sustained implementation of enhanced compliance efforts by the authority," Mburu said.
The Customs & Border Control (C&BC) earned the taxman Sh173.2 billion.Non-oil taxes registered a collection of Sh112.4 billion against a target of Sh105.0 billion.
Petroleum taxes, now a subject of review by MPs, amounted to Sh60.803 billion, being a surplus of Sh4 billion.
"Domestic taxes performance improved, with a 32.9 percent growth compared to a similar period last year." The Domestic revenue collection stood at Sh302.1 billion against a target of Sh298.6 billion. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) netted Sh107.8 billion.
"The performance was mainly driven by gradual growth in employment which is a clear sign of economic recovery," Kra said.
The Value Added Tax (VAT) collections amounted to Sh60.2 billion against a target of Sh59.2 billion.
Sh54.3 billion was collected in corporation tax, being a growth of 21.9 per cent compared to 3.7 per cent achieved in the financial year 2020/21. "This performance was driven by increased remittance from Energy, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Transport sectors that grew by 122.0 per cent, 103.9 per cent, 83.7 per cent and 107.4 per cent respectively."
Withholding Tax totalled Sh36.1 billion, representing a growth of 11.9 per centover the first quarter of 2020-21."This further signals economic recovery from the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic."
Domestic Excise amounted to Sh15.4 billion - a growth of 20.7 per cent.
"The performance turnaround is attributed to reopening of the economy and enhanced compliance efforts by the authority," Mburu said.
The taxman expressed optimism that the country is on an economic recovery path, with investment in technology expected to improve compliance.
"The authority is optimistic that this investment shall continue to sustain the good performance in revenue mobilisation," Mburu said