Every Kenyan with an ID should have a KRA PIN number, Ruto says on increasing tax collection

Speaking on Friday during the KRA’s Taxpayers event held at KICC, President Ruto said the directive would help to scale up tax compliance measures by the Authority in a bid to increase tax income.

He cited data by Safaricom Telco Company where about 30 million people are registered under M-Pesa against 7 million people who have KRA Pin numbers saying that his government would leverage technology to increase the tax base and enlist more taxpayers.

"There are only 7 million people with KRA pin numbers. At the same time, in the same economy, Safaricom’s MPESA has 30 million registered customers, transacting billions daily. The fact that this opportunity remains unclear to KRA demonstrates why radical changes are necessary. Every Kenyan with an ID should have a PIN number,” President Ruto stated.

"Technology and a considerate, fair, and professional mobilization will do the job quite well. Safaricom, a telco, has registered more people than KRA, a powerful state organization. It is very clear that the magic lies in technology and strategy, not in power and resources.”

The head of state reiterated his earlier remarks to reform the KRA and make it a people-friendly organization with the aim of increasing the tax bracket.

“We are committed to instituting a comprehensive culture change at the KRA in order to make it much more supportive of taxpayers…make it a people-friendly customer-centric organization that facilitates taxpayer compliance as a co-tax administration strategy,” he said.

“There will be no exemptions. There will be a fair tax regime where everybody is treated equally …I am determined to ensure that our tax system is responsive to the needs of the new era in Kenyan tax administration. I commit to becoming your ambassador by leading Kenyans in paying taxes.”

He added: “No single taxpayer who is eligible should be left out from this obligation because every exemption denies Kenyans the right to benefit from national resources and is unfair to loyal taxpayers who do the right thing,” Ruto stated.

Consequently, in his overall plans to increase the tax base, the president ordered KRA to double its current collection by the end of his first term and also raise Ksh.3 trillion by the end of the 2022-2023 financial year.

"Our GDP has risen to Ksh.12 trillion, yet KRA only raised about 14% of GDP in revenues last year. In the past, KRA was able to raise 18% of GDP. If we collect the same target today, then we would have raised an extra KShs 400 billion. I expect KRA to raise 3 trillion by the end of the next financial year and to double the current collection in five years," President Ruto directed.