The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) should harness new technologies like blockchain to facilitate trade and enhance domestic resource mobilization according to the Kenya Minister for Treasury and Economic Planning, John Mbadi.
Speaking at the KRA Summit 2024 launch, the Minister emphasized the need for a re-evaluation of traditional tax frameworks, encouraging the implementation of global solutions that ensure equitable contributions from all sectors to the national tax base.
Mbadi highlighted how innovations like digital taxation platforms, blockchain, and electronic invoicing systems can simplify compliance, improve trade transparency, and integrate the informal economy into the formal tax base.
The Minister also stressed the importance of investing in capacity building for public servants so they can fully leverage data analytics and machine learning to enhance compliance, combat tax malpractices, and forecast revenue with greater accuracy.
Mbadi is the new Finance minister after his predecessor was fired by President William Ruto following the violent protests by Kenyans in June and July 2024 against new measures by the government to raise taxes.
🇰🇪KENYA FINANCE BILL 2024 | ‘Most of the Taxes in Kenya Finance Bill Target Businesses And Ultimately Move to Final Consumer,’ Experts Say
According to local reports, the government said it was dropping some direct-to-consumer measures amid a public outcry and ongoing protests… pic.twitter.com/365vnnwX0u
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 26, 2024
Mbadi is keen to implement digital technologies to help clean up the bloated government payroll and carry out tax reforms in a bid to cut spending and bolster the government’s finances.
According to CNBC Africa, the East African nation faces gaping budget deficits and needs to boost revenue collection to meet conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a lending programme.
“Anyone who is standing in the way of that reform, please give way,” Mbadi said in August 2024, referring to a long-delayed project to link government payrolls with technology systems to weed out ghost workers and pensioners.
“Payroll reforms must be done.
“If we could increase our revenue collection to GDP by just about 3%, I am sure that would give us almost 400 billion Shillings [KES] additionally,” he said.
Recall that the Kenyan government entered an agreement with Bitcoin mining firm, Marathon Digital, in May 2024 with the partnership centering on cryptocurrency regulation and mining.
🇰🇪REGULATION | The Kenya Government Working with Marathon Digital on Cryptocurrency Regime and Bitcoin Mining
Marathon Digital operates 225,589 mining rigs across 11 sites globally, with an installed and energized hash rate of 27.8 exahashes per second.
The Company has mined… pic.twitter.com/9Z7RitPXgQ
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 4, 2024
“Marathon Digital has been ushered to consult with the National Treasury in Kenya on our cryptocurrency mining regime and to the Ministry of Energy to discuss its energy needs in connection with cryptocurrency mining here in Kenya,” the President said at the time.
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