The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has seen its rebound in tax revenue collections continue into the new financial year booking tax revenues of Kes.121.8 billion at the end of July, a 28.9 per cent rise in returns for the revenue agency from a lower Kes .94.5 billion collected last year according to new data from the National Treasury released on Friday.
“We are of the view that the tax measures introduced at the front end of the year, coupled with tightened administrative measures, as tailwinds to elevated tax receipts,” Churchill Ogutu, Head of Research at Genghis Capital.
Non-tax revenues in the first month of the 2021/22 fiscal year stood at Kes .348.9 million against a higher Kes.1.4 billion last year.
Domestic borrowing in July was reported at Kes 119.7 Billion, partly issuing from the TAP Sale (Kes 37.4Billion) of June primary issues and the July primary bond issue (Kes 79.9Billion).
Public debt service collected by KRA represented 73.1% of the ordinary revenue collected, standing at Kes 89.3Billion in July, 65.9% higher than the average in the fiscal year. Consequently, the Kenya Government gobbled up Kes 71,202,411,062.80 in July 2021, the first month of the 2021/22 financial year.
Tax revenues have significantly improved in the first seven months of the 2021 calendar year after sinking significantly in the months of November, December and January due to the prevailing pandemic COVID-19.
KRA attributed the improvement to the partial reopening of the economy alongside new tax measures such as introducing digital services tax (DST) and minimum tax.
Other independent agencies were the National Assembly which received Kes 936.7 Million, Public Service Commission(Kes 143.2 Million) and the Teachers Service Commission( Kes 22.2 Billion).
In the full year to June, total collections by KRA stood at Kes.1.562 trillion, with the taxman coming close to hitting the prescribed ceiling by missing the mark by just Kes.16.8 billion, a 98.9 % improvement.
