Kenya Revenue Authority has been forced to respond after claims emerged that it was planning to charge a 15% tax on all dowry payments.
In a tongue-in-cheek statement shared on its social media platforms on Tuesday, November 17, the authority disputed the claims, noting no taxation was in the offing for the cultural practice.
A local blog had reported that the authority was seeking to impose the taxation measure after claims that the cultural practice commanded an impressive turnover of Ksh365 billion a year.
The false report had also indicated that the taxation was set to kick off in January 2022.
"We have realized that a lot of money is going into dowry and this is not declared by the recipients. Our estimates show that the dowry industry is worth Ksh 365 billion shillings and we are targeting a fixed tax of 15% on this.
"By 2025, we want Kenyans to be paying 10% of their wedding expenses as tax," claimed the site.
"The official sources have disputed this claim," responded the taxman.
With the response, KRA captured the attention of many Kenyans since it invoked contemporary humour by using a cautionary tag that been widely used by Facebook and Twitter in fighting misinformation during the 2020 US Elections.
US 45th President Donald Trump's frequent outbursts were often discredited by the social media platform using the message - official sources have disputed this claim.
This is, however, not the first time KRA has been forced to respond after false reports claimed that it was targeting the dowry industry.
In December 2019, the taxman released a lengthy statement after some blogs claimed that it was eyeing the industry in an attempt to meet its targets.
"This information circulating on social media is fake news and did not originate from us," stated KRA at the time.
It is still not clear how much wealth circulates through dowry payment which is practised by most Kenyan communities as a way of appreciating the institution of marriage.
Traditionally, the transactions were made in the form of livestock but in recent years, the animals have been translated to liquid cash as most families have reduced farming space.
In most communities, the groom's family pays the dowry to the bride's kin although there are exceptions such as in Hindu customary marriage where the bride's family pays the groom.
