The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has introduced a new programme aimed at taking tax services to the ground.
The programme, dubbed Ushuru Mashinani, was introduced on March 26. Under this programme, KRA staff will move to the ground to help citizens understand and access tax services.
The reason for this is to help citizens who have been unable to access KRA offices or do not understand how the tax system works.
In this programme, KRA will work with various businesses that have computer and internet facilities. These facilities will help citizens with various activities such as PIN registration, filing of returns, obtaining tax compliance certificates, and even obtaining waivers for penalties.
KRA will also send teams to various parts of the country to help citizens on the ground. These teams will cover all 47 counties.
This, the agency claims, will help fill the gap in areas where there are no nearby KRA offices or Huduma Centres.
Another major part of the programme is what the KRA is calling “Ushuru Conversations.” This is where the agency’s officers engage the community in small meetings where they explain taxes in simple language, sometimes even using local dialects, to explain how taxes work and answer questions.
KRA says many people still fear or misunderstand taxes, and this has made it hard to increase the number of active taxpayers.
Recent data shows that while more than 22 million Kenyans are registered taxpayers, only about 7 million actually pay taxes. Most of these are people in formal employment.
According to George Obell, the authority now wants to increase that number to over 11 million by 2027.
“And we are looking to make it easy for Kenyans. We should start having a culture of people filing consistently… we are moving closer to the people,” he said.
KRA believes the Ushuru Mashinani programme will help more Kenyans understand their tax obligations and make it easier for them to comply.