The government has announced plans to begin levying taxes on all pay bill numbers starting December 2024 to enhance tax compliance.

According to President William Ruto’s senior economic advisor, Moses Kuria, the initiative aims to convert these pay bill numbers into virtual Electronic Tax Registers (ETRs) to ensure equitable tax contributions.

Further, he emphasized that this initiative is essential for broadening the tax base and addressing disparities between formal and informal sector taxation.

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

He revealed that 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.

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