Taxman Rebrands: Why KRA is Changing its Name

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has disclosed details of a planned rebrand that will see it renamed the Kenya Revenue Service (KRS).

The move would be similar to the evolution of the Kenya Police Force into the National Police Service (NPS) in the past decade following of the 2010 Constitution. It is meant to change how the taxman is perceived by the public.

Looking to shed off its association with harassment of business-owners and perceived over-taxation, the Francis Muthaura-led KRA board is keen on implementing the strategy in coming months.

“The term “Authority” sometimes has a connotation of a command. It is like we are in a command position. Commanding is not the real role of KRA. We are the servants of the people who are the taxpayers.

We are giving them services. We are working with the people and it is for this reason that we strongly believe that our role is of service delivery to the people,” he told Business Daily in an interview published on December 17, 2021.

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Muthaura also talked up KRA’s plans beyond the name change, asserting that they wanted to improve service delivery and build stronger relationships with Kenyans and businesses. He doubled down on KRA’s ongoing strategy to expand the tax base.

The taxman expects to collect Ksh6.8 trillion over the 2021/22 to 2023/2024 financial years. To hit targets, KRA has ramped up focus on expanding the tax base with new income sources including the digital economy and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs).

So far, it’s been working. In the four months to October 2021 it surpassed its collection target by Ksh27.09 billion

KRA collected Ksh631.03 billion between July and October 2021 against a target of Sh603.94 billion – a performance rate of 104.5 per cent.

“Our goal is to perfect service delivery to the taxpayers and build relations founded on trust in order to optimise revenue collection without necessarily recommending more taxes. Our moment of joy is to perfect service delivery to the extent that we are able to collect adequate revenue with the tax policies already in place.”

“The other focus point is to ensure that we have a tax regime that is good for the economy. We have geared up towards expansion of the tax base as a tool for establishing a stable equilibrium in the taxation equation.”

“In other words, we are looking at a tax regime that is conducive for business and economic transformation while at the same time enabling us raise adequate revenue to finance our country’s development agenda,” he stated.

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