Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has recorded an 8.4 percent increase in revenue collection to Kes 86.9 billion in the first quarter of the 2023-24 financial year (FY).

This is an increase compared to the Kes 541.6 billion recorded in the similar period in the 2022–23 fiscal year.

The taxman has attributed the higher collection to the real-time tax collection from gaming and betting firms, whose withholding tax and excise duty grew by 67 percent in the review period.

“The roll out of tax amnesty programme also enhanced collection after KRA collected Kes 3.4 billion since September 1, 2023,” KRA said.

However, the Authority did not meet its collection target for this period by Kes 79 billion out of the expected Kes 665.9 billion.

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This is despite Kes 26 billion daily collection, representing a 23.8 percent jump monthly.

The public sector's inadequate pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) remittance, the information and communication technology sector's notable 20.7 percent fall in installment remittance, and the adverse economic climate all contribute to the failure to meet the target.

According to KRA, the authority has been unable to function at its best because of insufficient funds.

“The allocated Recurrent Funding plus our expected AIA in the year total to Kes 28.117 Billion which is insufficient to support even the current operations, i.e., staff costs, existing contracted services and other revenue operational costs up to the end of the financial year,” said the Commissioner General of KRA.

Despite this, the revenue collector is optimistic about raising Kes 2.768 trillion in this FY, a 27.8 percent growth from Kes 2.166 in the previous FY.

The Authority aims to raise Kes 684.5 billion In Q2.