KRA announce 30 per cent revenue growth from betting sector
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced enhanced revenue collection from the gaming and betting sector.
KRA said it collected over Sh15 Billion from Excise on Betting and Withholding Tax on Winnings from this sector, reflecting a growth of 23.9 per cent from tax heads, compared to the same period in FY2021/2022.
The Taxman say Excise Duty on Betting registered an exceptional performance of 116.2 per cent after it collected Sh6.640 Billion from the sector, adding that the collection was against a target of Sh5.715 Billion, which reflects a surplus collection of Sh925 Million from the tax head.
The increase in Excise duty on betting reflects a growth of 30.0 per cent compared to the same period in FY2021/2022.
The Withholding Tax from winnings also netted Sh8.601 Billion, reflecting a growth of 21.1 per cent compared to the same period in the Financial Year 2021/2022. The betting tax similarly recorded a growth of 14.7 per cent after KRA collected Sh3.874 Billion.
The performance is attributed to the integration of betting companies into the KRA tax system, so far having integrated 36 companies, which contributed to the revenue growth in the sector.
It has commenced the integration of the final 87 betting firms into the system, which is expected to significantly enhance revenue collection from the sector.
The integration began in mid-October 2022, targeting the daily collection of the 7.5 per cent Excise Duty on stakes and the 20 per cent Withholding Tax on winnings from the companies. The initiative is in line with KRA’s commitment to streamline tax remittances from the sector, with the aim of scaling up revenue mobilisation and collection.
The programme has enabled KRA to make significant improvements on tax administrative processes in the betting and gaming sector, with the daily visibility of the firms providing trends that inform compliance measures.
Additionally, the integration has made betting and gaming transaction data readily available, which facilitates the verification of daily remittances by taxpayers. The integration is part of tax-at-source initiatives being implemented by KRA.
Tax-at-source is an emerging global trend moving away from the traditional self-assessment of taxes. This concept allows the collection of tax information and revenue directly at the source of income on a real-time basis.
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