The Kenya Revenue Authority has committed to embracing dialogue with business entities in revenue collection.
Commissioner General Githii Mburu says the authority will support the new Kenya Kwanza regime to meet its development agenda through thorough but friendlier tax collection.
"We can all do better to support our country if everybody pays what they owe - not a shilling more not a shilling less - we are going to do what is required of us as Kenyans in support of our country," Mburu said in a statement on Twitter.
His remarks came shortly after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua delivered a scathing attack on former President Uhuru Kenyatta accusing him of using state agencies including KRA to intimidate and persecute opponents.
Rigathi insinuated that the clampdown on businesses whose owners were opposed to Uhuru's policies resulted in the plummeting of the economy that's now on the verge of total shutdown.
"I want to tell the people of Kenya that you are finally free. You don’t have to talk with each other through WhatsApp for fear of being recorded and persecuted by state agencies," Gachagua said moments after taking an oath of office alongside President William Ruto at Kasarani stadium.
KRA has had a long-standing dispute with Keroche Breweries over non-remittance of taxes which has on some occasions seen its owners arrested and the Naivasha-based brewery closed down.
But Mburu assured business owners and Kenyans at large that the authority will henceforth adopt more cordial ways in its quest to get those who fail to honour their tax obligations to do so.
"Our call to all Kenyans is for them to pay taxes as we work on ways to engage them in a friendlier manner with a lot of dialogue," Mburu said.
"We are going to engage them in a friendlier manner, a lot of dialogue, less aggression but more discussions and we are going to collect taxes," he added.
