Taxpayer registration base in Kenya expands with customised technical assistance

ATAF partnered with VERO – Finland’s tax administration, to jointly deliver long term Technical Assistance to the Kenya Revenue Authority.

PRETORIA – Considering that the taxpayer register is the foundation of any tax administration, having an accurate and up to date taxpayer registration database is crucial for efficient revenue collection. 

Registration drives everything in the tax compliance system, it's the first step Therefore having a registration database that is comprehensive and accurate information allows the revenue administration to interact seamlessly with taxpayers. 

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) embarked on a journey with the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) and VERO (Finnish tax administration) to strengthen their foundation by improving the accuracy of their taxpayer database. 

This will ensure that KRA will know who their taxpayers are and that they comply with taxpayer obligations timeously.

ATAF in collaboration with VERO provided long term support to KRA with the first mission held from 4-12 April 2022 in Nairobi, Kenya. 

More than 100% of the Finnish population are registered in the Tax Administrations database. Therefore the programme will also entail a visit to VERO to see first-hand the registration processes and procedures that that Finland uses. The initial programme is envisaged to run until May 2023. 

The Technical Assistance (TA) will focus on providing guidance on the establishment of the unit and training the team responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the taxpayer register. A hybrid method of delivery consisting of physical missions and online workshops will be used to provide the technical support. 

The Technical Assistance (TA) will provide guidance on the establishment of the unit and support and training to the team responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the taxpayer register. A hybrid method of physical missions and online workshops will be used to provide the technical support. 

ATAF’s TA programmes aim to help revenue administrations improve their efficiency in carrying out their mandates by improving administrative processes and strengthening technical capacity to ultimately be able to collect more revenue.