In the battle to catch tax fraudsters, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wants Parliament to change the Huduma Namba Bill to provide it access to data.
The taxman wants the new legislation to cover data access that goes beyond the acquisition of legal information like as ID cards or passports.
This access will allow the taxman to apprehend anyone over the age of 18 who are not currently paying their fair share of taxes.
Once they reach the age of 18, Huduma Namba card ID holders will be immediately recognised as taxpayers and will be obligated to pay taxes.
The State is attempting to catch tax evaders by demanding that the Huduma Namba be used as a KRA personal identification number (PIN).
In the fiscal year ending in June, 5.5 million taxpayers submitted returns, whereas Kenyans aged 18 and above number 25.64 million, according to government figures.
The Bill stipulates, “Huduma Namba assigned to an individual under the Huduma Act, 2021 shall act as PIN for the purpose of tax legislation.”
MPs have suggested more amendments to the Huduma Namba biometric identification programme, which would replace the KRA PIN in legislative revisions aimed at catching tax cheaters.
The KRA wants Parliament to alter the Huduma Namba Bill, 2021, which modifies the Tax Procedure Act to make biometric ID the key number for identifying taxpayers, which is approved by the government.
The amendments will allow the KRA to access fundamental data, such as a resident’s personal data, biometric data, and biographical data, in order to verify the individual’s identification.
KRA requested that the Committee on Administration and National Security of the National Assembly reconsider section 5(1)(3)(c) in order for the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) database to support the issuing of functional administrative information identifiers.
In recommendations to Parliament, the authority stated, “This would enable agencies to deal with specific administrative challenges in their operations, such as tax base growth by KRA.”
All adults would be forced to register with the KRA, giving the taxman a broader pool of individuals to collect from than the 5.5 million it has so far.
In the midst of struggling to fulfil collection objectives, filing tax returns has become as one of the taxman’s favoured methods of catching tax fraudsters and growing the income tax collections.
The State is attempting to catch tax evaders by demanding that the Huduma Namba be used as a KRA personal identification number (PIN).
In the fiscal year ending in June, 5.5 million taxpayers submitted returns, whereas Kenyans aged 18 and above number 25.64 million, according to government figures.
This implies that youngsters who receive the Huduma Namba ID will be automatically classified as taxpayers when they turn 18 and will be compelled to file annual taxes regardless of their financial situation.
It also means that all adults would be compelled to register with the KRA, giving the taxman a broader pool of individuals to work with than the 5.5 million people who have already done so.
In the midst of struggling to fulfil collection objectives, filing tax returns has become as one of the taxman’s favoured methods of catching tax fraudsters and growing the income tax collections.
If it passes, the KRA will be forced to activate the tax obligations of all citizens above the age of 18 who are not already enrolled as taxpayers.
Regardless of their work situation, anybody with a PIN is required by law to file tax returns.
When they reach the age of 18, children who have enrolled in the NIIMS or Huduma Namba will be automatically registered as taxpayers.
A certificate of birth including Huduma Namba must be created from the NIIMS database upon the enrolling of a newborn or any other child, according to the Bill.
Kenyan adults will require this new ID to obtain government services such as State medical treatment, marriage, and tax returns.