Millions lost in tax evasion

Corrupt deals between employees of the Kenya Revenue Authority and the public are robbing the government of millions of shillings every year in tax evasion.

This, despite the fact that the authority has stepped up its war against graft in the last 18 months, during which more than 160 employees have faced disciplinary action over “inappropriate relationships”.

“We appreciate that tax collection is not an easy task,” said KRA Commissioner General Michael Waweru at a press conference in Nairobi on Sunday.

“We face numerous challenges, some of which touch on issues of integrity,” he said. As a result, the tax collector is currently experiencing one of the highest staff turnovers among public institutions in the country, Mr Waweru said.

He was reacting to a media expose last week that detailed the extent of rot at the Mombasa Port, billed as the gateway to the region. Mr Waweru said the revenue authority was doing everything possible to seal all loopholes being used to defraud the government.

“Among the initiatives include the introduction of online services in lodgement of customs entries; import declaration application; filing of income tax and VAT returns and payment of taxes,” Mr Waweru said. He praised the development of an integrity action plan undertaken with the World Customs Organisation and the Commonwealth Secretariat to stamp out corruption at Times Towers, the KRA headquarters.

Mr Waweru appealed to the public to expose anyone intent on evading tax and regretted that despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding between KRA and freight forwarders aimed at curbing graft, the expected reduction of tax evasion is yet to be seen.