Nairobi — The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has introduced a new platform to improve tax compliance among landlords and property owners.

Adoption of the Electronic Rental Income Tax System (eRITS) will, however, be voluntary.

"eRITS is designed to enable seamless integration with the KRA ecosystem for purposes of tax computation, filing, and payment; and is accessible through the Gava Connect API portal for system-to-system integration, and as a service through the eCitizen platform. The intention is to augment voluntary compliance within the sector while reducing administrative burdens associated with taxation," KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga said

"With this launch, we are taking a bold step toward a future where tax compliance is not a burden but a shared responsibility for nation building," he added.

Currently, landlords earning between Sh288,000 and Sh15 million annually are required to pay taxes under the Monthly Rental Income (MRI), which was introduced in 2016.

Initially, the MRI tax rate stood at 10 percent but was nonethless slashed to 7.5 percent in January last year.

In the last financial year 2023/2024, tax revenues collected through MRI stood at Sh14.4 billion, representing a 5.2 percent year-on-year growth compared to a collection of Sh13.6 billion in the preding fiscal year.

"With eRITS, we are moving towards a smarter, more efficient tax system that benefits everyone. With this system, we aim to not only increase revenue collection but also create a more equitable and predictable tax environment that benefits both taxpayers and the government." National Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo stated.