The desire of every employer is to bring on board a workforce with a clean record as the Constitution requires. As such, it has become extremely important for employers to ensure potential candidates meet the conditions.
Among them include a Tax Compliance Certificate issued by the Kenya Revenue Authority, a certificate of good conduct from the National Police Service and clearance certificates from the Higher Education Loans Board, Credit Reference Bureau and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
Arguably, a tax compliance certificate has become a requisite requirement in many other disciplines beyond job applications. It must be on this account that KRA has continually made deliberate efforts to avail taxpayers this crucial certificate more conveniently.
Years before the inception of iTax, taxpayers who required the compliance certificates had to make two visits to KRA offices; the first visit was to apply for the certificate and a second one to collect the document. iTax made the process a bit easier as the application was done online where a copy of the approved certificate would be sent to the taxpayer’s email.
Through a notice to the public recently, KRA has announced a further simplification of the application process. According to the taxman, applicants with clean tax ledgers will now get the document on the spot. Given that there will no longer be intervention by KRA staff in the entire application and issuance process, enhanced transparency and efficiency are guaranteed.
This is a commendable step which will significantly alleviate the anguish of most people who have blamed KRA in the past for delayed processing of tax compliance certificates. Such delays have reportedly left some people to watch as opportunities slip through their fingers.
While the taxman makes such monumental efforts, taxpayers also have a responsibility to ensure their tax records are clean at all times. Keeping a clean tax record entails paying all tax liabilities and filing corresponding tax returns within the right timelines.
Lastly, last-minute rushing as Kenyans are famous for when such documents are required is not prudent. The rush comes with its fair share of inconveniences. In light of this, it is important to file and have all the crucial requirements ready at all times. You never know when an opportunity will knock on your door.
Kitui
