Kenya’s revenue collection jumps up to record level

August 21, 2023

3 minutes read)

The National Treasury collected Sh155.06 billion in revenues last month, a sharp growth compared to the Sh130.6 billion that the tax agency collected in July last year

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) recorded an 18.7 percent jump in revenue collection in July compared to a similar period last year driven by new tax measures and increased economic output.

The National Treasury collected Sh155.06 billion in revenues last month, a sharp growth compared to the Sh130.6 billion that the tax agency collected in July last year.

The July collections have surpassed monthly collections in six of the 12 months in the financial year 2022/23, but are a 29.7 percent drop from the record Sh220.6 billion that was collected in June. Last month’s revenues were boosted by doubling of value added tax (VAT) on fuel to 16 percent which took effect on July 1. The High Court had temporarily suspended the implementation of the Finance Act, 2023 which doubled the VAT, but the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) still went ahead to affect the tax.

The Court of Appeal has since allowed implementation of the Act, which puts KRA in a race against time to collect a tax revenue target of Sh2.49 trillion in the current financial year. Mobilizing enough tax revenue through new taxes and expanding the tax base is one of President William Ruto’s main targets to fund his Sh3.67 trillion debut budget. Dr Ruto’s first budget contains a fiscal deficit of Sh718 billion, which is expected to be financed through domestic borrowing of Sh586.5 billion and external loans of Sh131.5 billion.