The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has moved to defend its proposal to move the tax filing timeline from June 30 to April 30, saying the current system no longer justifies a mid-year timeline.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking during NTV's TaxSymposium on May 19, KRA Commissioner for the Micro and Small Taxpayers Department (MST) argues that with pre-populated returns now in place, most Kenyans, especially salaried employees, have little reason to wait until June to file their annual tax returns.

“Why would we wait for the people who are filing nil to come and queue at the end of June? We shouldn't have that. We should have them come early,” stated Commissioner Obell.

He further explains that the move has partly been attributed to the growing number of taxpayers in the last four months, growing by 97,000 and contributing at least Ksh7.8 billion, a result he deems monumental.

📌 What You Need to Know

“Just looking at this year, from people who have never paid a single shilling tax, by now they have paid 7.8 billion. People who have not paid a single coin. And that is just 97,000 taxpayers,” added Obell.

Those 97,000 taxpayers came in voluntarily and settled billions within just four months, demonstrating that earlier timelines can work when the right systems are in place, as per Obell.

To facilitate the early tax filing plans, Commissioner Obell revealed that the tax body intends to send every registered taxpayer a detailed pre-filled breakdown of their books starting January 1, 2027, pulling data from eTIMS invoices, withholding tax certificates, and third-party sources ahead of the April 30 sunset date.

He questioned why employees and nil-filers should wait until June when the returns are already prepared for them, stating,  "Why would we have employees, purely employees, waiting for June to file? We shouldn't have that because we're already prevailing the return."

Another reinforcement for the plan, according to Obell, is that KRA’s  iTax system has been upgraded with a dashboard that provides businesses with real-time visibility into their sales, purchases, eTIMS invoices, withholding tax certificates, and even import and export data; hence, he believes that the early returns filing process will not only be streamlined but also prove vital to the tax body itself.

However, businesses have pushed back, warning the shift will create serious strain, particularly given ongoing compliance difficulties tied to income and expense validation under the current tax framework.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke