Kenyan athletes celebrate after winning Photo.www.eadestination.com
The tax amnesty debate has once again taken a different turn after Kenya Revenue Authority’s Policy Unit Deputy Commissioner James Ojee said parliament extension of the amnesty will encourage perennial defaulters. According to Ojee, the moneyed have excess cash and income generating assets in foreign states. The supremacy battle was unearthed after Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich overruled KRA’s directive about tax declaration.“I have noted that there is need to clarify the circumstances under which the amnesty will be granted. Consequently, taxpayers willing to enjoy amnesty should declare the income for the year 2016, file return and accounts for the year 2016 by June 30, 2018 and transfer back to Kenya the funds voluntarily declared under the amnesty,” said CS Rotich.However, Ojee clarified that the target population is the athletes and musicians who have invested physical assets abroad that do not benefit Kenyan economy as well as saved excessively in overseas financial institutions.“Our athletes, footballers and music artists who perform outside the country earn income overseas and they have bank accounts overseas. They have other assets and yet they are Kenyan tax residents. These are the people we want to come forward and take advantage of the tax amnesty. After the declaration of their incomes, we will guide them on how they can repatriate their wealth. I know many people will think that we are unfair to our world-beating athletes and precocious musicians. But for a tax system to be fair, it has to embrace the doctrine of equality. There is no equality when there are wealthy Kenyan sports people and musicians abroad earning incomes and not paying tax even when they are resident Kenyan taxpayers,” said Ojee.