KRA to disable PIN’s, Cease Assets and ban Travel for Tax Cheats

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is planning to cease assets of tax cheats as well as issue travel bans to those who has defaulted.

Already, the taxman has “profiled 1,309 individuals and companies with tax-loss estimated at approximately Sh259 billion.”

KRA’s General Commissioner, Githii Mburu says the entities are earmarked for “further investigations and legal action for non-compliance.”

The authority has also made a notice to disable Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) of firms and individuals who are suspects of tax evasion.

One of the measures the authority reported is to stop the affected individuals and businesses from doing registration and or transferring land, motor vehicles as well as other assets that require proof of active registration as a taxpayer

Insurance firms, clearing and forwarding, and non-compliant individuals found evading taxes will also not be able to underwrite any business, be unable to do any cargo business, and be stopped from doing any business with the state or opening an account with any financial institution respectively.

The taxman is also planning to bring more people into the tax brackets to curb tax cheating and evasion to meet its targets in the economy where the Covid-19 pandemic affected the industry at large.

Employers found paying salaries to workers whose pins will be deactivated will also be in a position of committing a crime.

The authority also reported that the deregistered pins of firms and individuals affected will be denied participation in any transactions that will need proof of active registration as a taxpayer.

Other firms that will be affected by the measures include the underwriting of insurance policies, customs clearing and forwarding, payment of deposits for power connections, supplying goods and services to the State, as well as opening accounts with financial institutions.

The authority is also fighting against tax evasion to hire 1,000 enforcement officers to conduct investigations on wealthy individuals and firms suspected.