President William Ruto has directed the National Treasury to overhaul the current taxation regime and eliminate double taxation for Kenyans living abroad.
Speaking during a meeting with Kenyans living in Ghana on Tuesday, April 2, the Head of State expressed that the taxation system should not overburden Kenyans in the diaspora.
He acknowledged that Kenyans in the diaspora were already paying taxes in their countries of residence hence, there was no reason to impose similar taxes on them back home.
He revealed that the government was going to also be giving tax credits for Kenyans in the diaspora as part of the overhaul.
"I have asked our Treasury to do an overhaul of our taxing space. We will carry some input from the diaspora on what we can do better. We already said that people who pay taxes wherever they work, should not pay taxes for the same issues at home.
"All you need to do is to file your return and state what you have paid and we will give you a tax credit for what you have paid so that you do not pay taxes twice," he stated.
On the other hand, he intimated that the government will be working with those living abroad to ensure that the country actualises a fair taxation regime.
"We appreciate that you work in a different country and you have to pay taxes in that country and we can only work to ensure that we do not cause you to pay taxes twice.
"Tell us what we can do better. Tell us what we can do more. If there are tax issues, let's talk," he added.
On the other hand, he revealed that the government would be working with the diaspora community to increase remittances.
He noted that as of April 2024, remittances stood at around USD 3.3 billion. The president revealed that he wanted to push up that number to the USD 10 billion mark within the next five years.
According to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the majority of the remittances are made by Kenyans living in North America and Europe.
