Taxman collects Sh1trn in Q3 as firms report losses

Tax collections in the nine months ended March 2019 rose by a modest 8.62 percent compared to a year earlier, leaving the taxman with a Sh585.27 billion gap to bridge in three months to meet full-year target.

Data released by Treasury secretary Henry Rotich last Thursday shows tax receipts between July 2018 and March 2019 stood at Sh1.02 trillion compared with nearly Sh939.37 billion in the same period the year before.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) had raked in an equivalent of 63.55 percent of the nearly Sh1.61 trillion target set by the Treasury in the current year ending in June during the review period.

That is slightly lower than 65.23 percent performance rate of the Sh1.44 trillion target for the previous year ended June 2018.

Shortfalls in revenue collection targets widens the country’s budget deficit which is bridged through increased borrowing to meet cash demands for public service delivery and development projects.

Chief taxman has linked this to sluggish recovery from 2017 election jitters which hurt investment sentiment in that period with growth in economic output — gross domestic product — slowing to a five-year low of 4.9 percent.