Nairobi — The government will begin levying taxes on all paybill numbers starting December 2024 to enhance tax compliance.

Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp

This initiative, aimed at converting these paybill numbers into virtual Electronic Tax Registers (ETRs), is part of President William Ruto's broader strategy to ensure equitable tax contributions across the economy.

President William Ruto's senior economic advisor, Moses Kuria, emphasized that this initiative is essential for broadening the tax base and addressing disparities between formal and informal sector taxation.

Currently, approximately three million individuals in the formal sector shoulder the tax burden for nearly eleven million informal sector workers, a situation Kuria describes as "unfair."

"The goal is to ensure that everyone pays taxes, as mandated by our constitution," Kuria stated.

By Christmas 2024, all paybills are expected to function as virtual ETRs for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), significantly increasing the efficiency of tax collection.

The initiative primarily targets traders using mobile money services who do not currently have physical ETRs.

Kuria pointed out that while more than two million companies utilize mobile payment systems, only about 200,000 are registered with physical ETRs.

This stark contrast highlights a major gap in revenue collection that the government aims to close.

The existing situation, where KRA operates roughly 200,000 ETR devices against over two million digital payment touch points provided by mobile operators and banks, further illustrates the untapped potential for improving tax compliance through mobile payments.