The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced that it collected Sh43.9 billion through a tax amnesty program that concluded on June 30. This collection involved 1,064,667 taxpayers.
The KRA revealed that the program also resulted in the waiver of penalties and interest totaling Sh507.7 billion, benefiting 3,115,393 taxpayers. "These waivers were granted automatically when taxpayers filed their returns, declared, and paid their principal taxes," the KRA stated.
The tax amnesty initiative, which ran from September 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, aimed to provide relief to taxpayers with outstanding tax obligations. The KRA noted that June 2024 saw the highest collection, amounting to Sh15.1 billion.
A tax amnesty is periodically targeted at a specific group or activity to address particular issues or achieve specific goals. The Finance Act of 2023 introduced this tax amnesty program, allowing taxpayers to apply for amnesty on penalties and interest for tax debt incurred up to December 31, 2022.
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This program followed the repeal of provisions concerning the abandonment and waivers of penalties and interest. Under the program, taxpayers were required to pay only the principal amount of their outstanding tax debts.