The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has flagged a message going around social media about the authority seeking to tax till numbers, labelling it as fake.
Taking to the X platform, the authority said the allegations were not true.
“Till numbers are NOT subject to taxation, and KRA does not collect any such taxes,” the post said.
The authority has warned Kenyans to beware of fraudsters who were purporting to be KRA and collecting taxes on till numbers and other Lipa na Mpesa services.
In January 2023, Business Daily reported that KRA was seeking to track mobile money transactions in real-time in order to catch tax evaders.
KRA was looking to monitor the 16 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on sales as well as the 20 percent excise duty charged on transactions.
In October 2023, the publication reported that KRA had noticed a trend where business owners ditched mobile merchant payment accounts and reverted to cash transactions since it enhanced compliance checks in major towns.
KRA deployed 1,400 revenue service assistants in September, with paramilitary training to help enhance tax compliance amongst traders, including the facilitation of online registration of businesses.
Businesspersons who have encountered the officers say they are demanding to see the premises’ business permit, cash and receipt books, mobile money statements, including all M-Pesa till and paybill numbers, wage schedules, tenancy agreements, and rent receipts.
