The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has hit the Sh1 trillion mark as of December 8, 2023, the taxman has announced.
The Authority revealed it has maintained an upward trajectory in revenue collection after collecting Sh180.714 Billion in November 2023, up from Sh156.095 Billion collected in a corresponding period last year, representing a 15.8 percent growth.
”Revenue collection has progressively increased in the last five months (July –November 2023/24) after KRA collected Kshs 963.746 Billion compared to Kshs 856.646 Billion collected in the same period last financial year, representing a growth of 12.5%,’’ KRA stated.
The authority observed that collection was affected by the performance of key economic indicators that directly drive revenue collection, including the depreciating Kenya shillings against the dollar, high inflation, and reduced imports.
”Revenue performance was also affected by low domestic demand as indicated by the slowed Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) that averaged at 47.18 points in July – November 2023, down from 48.66 points in July – November 2022,’’ KRA added.
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”The tight financial markets marked by an increase in lending rates and interbank rates, has slowed down credit extension, especially to the private sector, resulting into decline in Bank profitability by 4.9% as of September 2023.’’
The authority noted that the customs which posted a 17.6 percent growth to Sh72.116 billion in November 2023, up from Sh61,322 billion in a similar period last year, Â recorded the second-highest monthly collection in the history of KRA.
KRA noted that growth was supported by oil taxes, with the taxman collecting Sh27.943 Billion, up from the Sh19.610 Billion collected in the same period in the last financial year.
”The good performance by oil taxes was mainly driven by growth in both overall oil volumes and values by 36.7% and 49.5%, respectively. The growth was also driven by the positive impact of tax policy, which include the VAT rate change from 8% to 16% vide Finance Act 2023.,’’ KRA stated.
Domestic taxes amounted to Sh108.174 Billion in November 2023, translating to a revenue growth of 14.7 percent compared to Sh94.331 Billion realized in November 2022.
Expressing confidence that it will continue with the upward trajectory, the Taxman noted that it is targeting to collect 2.787 Trillion by the end of the Financial Year 2023/2024.