Slightly over 400,000 Kenyans rushed to file their taxes between Monday and Thursday to beat the taxman’s June 30 deadline.
Data by the Kenya Revenue Authority shows the number of taxpayers grew to 3,107,117 by Thursday from 2.7 million Kenyans reported to have filed their taxes by June 23.
In March KRA said it was targeting four million taxpayers at the end of June.
Kenya projects to collect Sh1.87 trillion in taxes in the year starting July, from the Sh1.65 trillion it expects to raise in the year ending Sunday.
The Kenya Revenue Authority will open offices on Sunday to help taxpayers beat the deadline for filing returns.
A statement from the tax man shows all Custom offices including Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and iTax Service Centers countrywide will be open to ensure no one is locked from filing 2018/19 tax obligations.
‘’All taxpayers are therefore encouraged to utilize all these platforms to ensure that they remain compliant and avoid penalties for late or failure to submit a tax return,’’ KRA said.
Late submission or failure to submit a tax return altogether is an offense under the Tax Procedures Act, 2015 which attracts a penalty of Sh2,000 for an individual taxpayer and Sh10,000 or five per cent of the tax due in the case of non-individual taxpayers.
Last year, only 3.2 million taxpayers filed returns. KRA imposed tougher penalties for those who failed to submit returns on time, charging up to Sh20,000 for individuals and between 25 per cent of the tax due or Sh10,000 to companies.
Tax collection for the first nine months to March was short of the target by Sh95 billion, mainly due to reduced economic activity and drought that hit agriculture.
The Treasury said the taxman would pursue workers and business people who failed to declare their income to the State in a drive aimed at plugging the revenue shortfalls.
Official data show that 2.9 million Kenyans worked in the formal sector last year compared to 14.8 million in the informal sector.
