The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Tuesday refuted claims that it had imposed a tax on businesses using till numbers as the preferred mode of payment.
Responding to the matter, KRA dismissed a viral post doing rounds on social media insisting that the authority did not and was not planning to introduce such taxes.
"Not true. Till numbers are not subject to taxation, and KRA does not collect any such taxes," KRA noted in a statement.
"Beware of fraudsters purporting to do any of the above. Verify any KRA staff today on our website or by dialing *572#."
The post shared by an online user claimed that KRA had begun tracking and shutting down businesses that failed to remit taxes after transacting using popular digital mobile money service providers.
"Morning, if you have a shop or using mobile money services for your business, most are being shut down, you are supposed to pay tax for it," claimed the online user.
The user further claimed that businesses across the board were planning to ditch mobile money channels due to the new measures.
Businesses across the country use till numbers, a mode of payment that is considered a safe and convenient digital way to receive payment for goods and services.
In October, KRA's chief manager in the Domestic Taxes Department Caroline Rotich revealed that the agency had flagged a recent trend where businesses were avoiding digital payment channels to avoid paying taxes.
The official stated that the agency had noted that most businesses had begun asking customers to pay in cash.
“We are working on strategies on how we can work around this,” the official remarked at the time.
Meanwhile, KRA is working on several strategies to ramp up revenue collection in line with its long-term goals.
