KRA To Monitor Your Mobile Money Transactions In Move To Nab Tax Cheats: "Collect Every Shilling Due"

• Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) planned to integrate its systems with telecommunication firms to monitor their real-time transactions
• The move is aimed at collecting data on mobile money transactions by merchants using services such as Lipa Na M-Pesa
• The taxman takes the initiative in a bid to meet President William Ruto's target of collecting every shilling due to the tax revenue

Kenyans using Lipa Na M-Pesa services will have to submit real-time transaction data to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for tax monitoring.

KRA revealed plans to integrate its systems with telecommunication firms to monitor mobile money, airtime and internet transactions.

Business owners using Lipa Na M-Pesa services will have their daily value of transactions subjected to real-time monitoring in a move aimed at curbing tax evasion.

Ruto's tax collection plans

The taxman rolled out the programme to integrate its systems with companies in a bid to meet President William Ruto's tax collection target that aims to “collect every shilling due”.

KRA domestic tax acting commissioner David Mwangi said the process of linking the authority's systems with telcos is ongoing - under the pilot stage.

“The integration with telcos is aimed at enhancing the visibility of real-time transactions and, as a result, provide daily trends upon which compliance measures can be taken to enhance revenue collection,” said Mwangi, as quoted by Business Daily.

The integration is aimed at netting traders using digital and mobile wallets to make transactions and under-declare sales to avoid tax.

Mobile money transaction value

The value of cash handled via mobile money agents increased by 4.97% to KSh 7.811 trillion for the year ending June 2023, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reported.

Safaricom's financial year 2022/23 results showed Kenyans transacted over KSh 35 billion via M-Pesa.

The report released in May 2023 indicated a 21.4% growth in M-Pesa transaction value to KSh 35.9 trillion.

"Total M-PESA transaction volume increased by 33.5% year on year to KSh 21 billion. New growth areas referenced in M-Pesa include the Pochi la Biashara (wallet for micro or small businesses), business transacting tills and the merchant credit facilities," said Safaricom Chief Financial Officer Dilp Pal.

If the systems are fully integrated into the telcos, KRA could increase its revenue collection, as it gained from betting firms.

KRA revenue collection

The taxman reported a 23.9% growth in tax to KSh 15.1 billion from betting and gaming firms for the fiscal year ending June 2023.

This followed the integration of its tax system with the betting companies for real-time tax collection early in the year.

Total revenue collection grew by 6.7% to KSh 2.166 trillion for the same period under review.

In March 2023, KRA acting commissioner-general Rispah Simiyu revealed the authority collected KSh 1.554 trillion, representing an 8% growth compared to a similar period in 2022.