The Kenyan taxman KRA has issued a stern warning to tax evaders saying it plans to take tougher measures against them this financial year.
On Wednesday, KRA Commissioner of Investigations and Prosecutions Edward Karanja said they have decided to institute criminal prosecution of tax evaders as part of the global practice.
The prosecution will be guided by investigations to enhance voluntary tax compliance, reports the Star.
This will be carried out across the five KRA centres of Nairobi, Mombasa, Central, Rift Valley and Western.
“We are sure we will recover tax revenue from over 95 percent prosecutions,” Karanja asserted.
In the last financial year ending June 2018, the taxman prosecuted 223 individuals and it expects to prosecute another 600 this year.
The commissioner said they are working with 11 prosecutors given by the Director of Criminal Investigations.
In the 2018/2019 financial year, KRA collected Sh1.58 trillion, 11.8 percent growth from Sh1.43 trillion in the previous year. The Authority attributed this to initiatives such as the implementation of ICMs, integrated cargo scanning solutions, regional electronic cargo tracking system to reduce cargo diversion and uptake of iTax system that has increased tax base.
The tax base increased to Sh8million this year from Sh6.7 million in the previous year.
