President William Ruto has asked the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to inspire confidence in Kenyans to pay their taxes.
He said the authority must make their tax system simple, transparent, and fair to collect more.
Ruto said that KRA has been sluggish in facilitating Kenyans to honour their obligations.
The Head of State said KRA has failed to deploy better technologies to boost revenues.
He said the aversion to the upgrading of revenue administration technologies was a signal of underhand dealings.
"It suggests that arbitrary, opaque, and corruptible revenue collection methods are the preferred modus operandi," he said.
He made the remarks on Friday at Times Towers, Nairobi, where he filed his tax returns in the company of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and KRA Board Chairman Anthony Mwaura.
The President said KRA must undertake “serious and effective” culture change and adopt the best technologies to facilitate revenue mobilisation.
He said the authority must stop the drama of pretending to be fighting with stakeholders over new technology.
"You have to avoid irritating Kenyans with proposals to change names and tackle collusion and wanton bribe-taking that facilitate revenue leakages," he said.
Ruto said KRA stands to attain full contribution through a radical transformation.
Gachagua said the government was keen on mobilising local resources to drive its development agenda.
“We are weaning ourselves of foreign debts, which are choking us,” Gachagua said.
The DP said the government will rebuild the economy by generating revenue for recurrent and development expenditures.
He said Ruto led by example, and Kenyans must follow suit by filing Tax Returns on time as required by law.
Gachagua said KRA officers must remain professional and efficient in their work, for the country to meet its revenue collection target.
