Ignorance is bliss, until that day a caveat is placed on your property. You can run but you can never hide from the taxman. With GIS and the IDMS between Govt Agencies, Service providers, Banks & KRA, I wish you good luck. You need it, abd btw you elect the people you have mentioned, don't you?

I would not declare.I'd Just hike the rent and wait.KRA are not as efficient/effective as they pretend to be. Otw talk to other Landlords in the neighbourhood.If one of them has declared,then better do the same.

Not saying I support @businesspundit (I unwillingly pay my share), but just today, we read this: "Treasury promises IMF retrenchment of civil servants by December" while just a few months back we got this:



The government should really get its priorities right.

@businesspundit all over the world most government money is wasted. As any entity grows headcount, it's efficiency declines. So your excuse for not paying taxes is not valid.

That being said, however, it is also common knowledge in the business community that if you pay each and every tax obligation, you are likely to have no profit left. I learnt this the hard way. After paying in full and toying with losses in my business this year, in March some stupid KRA matafakas still came for me aggressively. I had to part with 150k to shoo them off. I suspect it was my competitors doing.

So what balance can be struck between keeping the lights on in this godforsaken country of ours, and making profits in your business? I decided to do the following:

1. Just have a budget for KRA every month. Doesn't have to be every obligation in full, but it can just be whatever you can manage. This will serve to clear your conscience about contributing to Kenyas development and cool off whoever decides to investigate you. If you are one of those who have never paid anything and will never pay, the investigators will not spare you.

2. Practice tax avoidance wherever you can. Use tax haven loopholes if you can. They are the biggest loopholes available.

3. Have some money set aside for bribes, just in case they come for you. No more than 150k.

PS: all these tips are for small businesses.

Don't blame EABL for Keroche's woes. As I read more and gathered more information the situation seemed clearer.

1) Keroche was selling similar products as EABL e.g. Viena Ice = Smirnoff Ice
2) The tax per Keroche on similar products was lower than what EABL was paying. KRA's rules are often vague and subject to different interpretations. Both Keroche & EABL could have been right.
3) EABL must have protested to KRA about the differential.
4) EABL must have asked KRA for one of 2 options: EABL pays the same lower rate as Keroche OR Keroche (et al) pay the same higher rate as EABL. [The same drama applies to BAT vs Mastermind + Safricom vs Airtel/Telkom for licensing fees].
5) KRA/GoK would 'lose' taxes if they reduced taxes on EABL to match Keroche so instead they went after Keroche for higher taxes.
6) IMHO, I think KRA should tighten up the ambiguities, tell Keroche & EABL to pay per the (unambiguous) law/rules going forward. For the past, give EABL a credit [to bring the taxes at par] for the differential vis-a-vis Keroche (et al). Why punish Keroche for KRA's (& lawmakers) faults?

@AShOck @Mike Ock - I feel your pain. The tax regime should be transparent. And simple. I believe it is deliberately not so because the folks at KRA want loopholes and ambiguities so they can hassle taxpayers for bribes.

@VVS, the dirty secret of most small business owners in Kenya is that no one ever pays taxes when their business is still fledgling with meagre profits in the beginning. If someone pays taxes, it's when the business is stable. On top of that, there's the silly cyber cafe KRA registration services that put everyone on VAT requirement. So the taxman, when sent to harass you, always knows he'll get something wrong with your small business if he digs hard enough, and he really presses that point, forcing you into a bribe

Yes, sales tax, nhif, nssf, withholding tax and any other industry specific tax.

Your lies spoil your point. NHIF isn't a tax, its insurance. NSSF isn't a tax, its a saving.

Lets agree what a tax is. My understanding of tax is money taken from my earned income by the government or its bodies and its taken before my income is handed over to me and its taken by force. I have no option. Pay or go to jail. Whatever you call it, PAYE, NSSF, NHIF its still deducted from gross income and you have no choice in the matter. You cant say this month ni kunoma sitaki kutoa NSSF. So by my layman understanding NHIF and the rest are taxes.

NSSF,NHIF = tax, where did that one come from. What next, school fees is tax.