cg's speech 2008 - kenya revenue authority€¦ · · 2015-09-28revolutionised document...
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REMARKS BY MR. M. G. WAWERU, E.B.S.,
COMMISSIONER GENERAL, KENYA REVENUE
AUTHORITY, DURING THE YEAR 2008
TAXPAYERS’ AWARDS CEREMONY
TUESDAY 21ST OCTOBER, 2008 AT BOMAS OF
KENYA, NAIROBI
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� Your Excellency the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kenya, Hon. Mwai Kibaki, C.G.H., M.P.;
� The Minister for Environment and Mineral Resources and Acting Minister for Finance, Hon. John Michuki, E.G.H., M.P.;
� Honorable Ministers Present;
� Permanent Secretaries Present;
� Your Excellencies the Ambassadors, High Commissioners and Diplomats;
� Chief Executives of Top Taxpayer Companies;
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� Distinguished Taxpayers;
� Commissioners General from the East Africa Revenue Authorities;
� Invited Guests;
� Members of the Board, Management and Staff of Kenya Revenue Authority;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
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Your Excellency Sir,
Allow me at the very outset to begin by taking this opportunity,
on behalf of the Kenya Revenue Authority fraternity, to express
our sincere gratitude and appreciation to your Excellency Sir,
for not only agreeing to preside over this year’s Distinguished
Taxpayers’ Awards Ceremony, but also the unrelenting support
and guidance you have continued to extend to KRA.
Sir, your passionate appeal to Kenyans to pay all their taxes
and set this great country free, has continued to resonate
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across the country with a very clear message of voluntary
compliance. It is our resolve at Kenya Revenue Authority to
consolidate all the gains we have made with regard to taxpayer
loyalty and voluntary tax compliance.
Kenya Revenue Authority set aside the week of 13th to 21st
October 2008 to thank and appreciate all our taxpayers for
extending their unwavering support to the Authority, and also
to showcase the KRA’s reform and modernisation initiatives.
Besides, KRA officials have taken time to visit a number of
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children’s homes and orphanages countrywide, as part of the
Authority’s Corporate Social Responsibility. Your Excellency Sir,
we are cognisant of the fact that it is the society that gives KRA
the mandate to exist and operate and it is therefore important
that as a responsible corporate citizen, we share a proportion
of our modest resources with the less privileged members of
the society.
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Your Excellency Sir,
The theme of this week’s activities is Tulipe Ushuru,
Tujitegemee in line with the Authority’s new rallying call. As
may be appreciated, this theme is an improvement on last
year’s, which was Kulipa Ushuru, ni Kujitegemea. Your
Excellency Sir, the essence of this improvement is that, for the
last few years, KRA has been trying to sensitise Kenyans on the
need to pay all their taxes to enhance the country’s financial
independence.
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Judging from the number of taxpayers who have since decided
to comply voluntarily, we believe that the message has been
well received. Tulipe Ushuru, Tujitegemee, is therefore, an
effort toward consolidating the voluntary tax compliance
culture among Kenyan taxpayers, by appealing to them to take
charge of their destiny.
Your Excellency Sir,
Only yesterday, Kenyans from all walks of life gathered in
various centers countrywide to celebrate the 45th anniversary of
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Kenyatta Day, a day to remember the sacrifices made by our
freedom heroes and heroines, who gave up leisure to liberate
the country from the bondage of colonialism. The political
freedom was won on the platform of eradicating poverty,
ignorance and disease.
Whereas the country has made tremendous strides in the areas
of Universal Free Primary Education, and economic
management, the war on HIV Aids, Malaria and a host of other
diseases is still far from being won.
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The fight against poverty is still going on and although its
incidence has been reduced considerably in the last few or so
years, a large number of our people are still living below the
poverty line. We require more financial resources to accomplish
the dream of the architects of the struggle for independence,
and enhance the quality of life for all our people, while at the
same time ensuring that our children do not die from
preventable diseases.
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As the main revenue collection agency for the Government,
KRA is committed to ensuring that it plays its rightful role in
mobilisation of the requisite domestic financial resources to
enhance the country’s financial independence. In this regard, I
wish to call upon all taxpayers and other stakeholders to
continue supporting KRA to discharge its mandate effectively
and efficiently.
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Your Excellency Sir,
The vision of Kenya Revenue Authority is to be the Leading
Revenue Authority in the World Respected for
Professionalism, Integrity and Fairness. This vision gives
us the motivation to endeavour for global leadership in tax
administration practices. Towards this end, KRA has in the
recent years, consistently modernised revenue collection
methods with a view to enhance service delivery to its
customers. The reform agenda has now come full cycle, and
provided a reliable platform for enhanced information sharing.
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Among the very first reform and modernisation initiatives was
the integration of the then semi-autonomous Income Tax,
Value Added Tax and Domestic Excise to create Domestic
Taxes Department. The merger and consolidation of functions
has enabled the department to have a single view of the
taxpayer, and minimise the number of visits and time spent by
tax audit teams at the taxpayers’ premises. Consequently,
taxpayers can now spend more time on their businesses, and
worry less about the visits by tax officers.
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The carving out of the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) from the
Domestic Taxes Department in 2006 was aimed at providing
specialised services to taxpayers, based on their unique needs,
in terms of size, contribution to total revenue collection, and
sector. The LTO concept has tremendously improved
specialisation, and through the taxpayer segmentation
approach, facilitated better understanding between KRA and
taxpayers.
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Similarly, the introduction early this year of Turnover Tax
(TOT), targets small taxpayers who face tremendous
challenges with regard to cost of compliance, record keeping,
and their migratory nature. The TOT has simplified tax
payment, and ensured that small taxpayers are not subjected
to rigorous requirements that are applicable to large taxpayers.
This has ultimately reduced costs involved in determining tax
liability and filing of tax returns, and is expected to greatly
improve tax compliance in this sector.
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I want to appeal to all small taxpayers to embrace this tax so
that we can quickly put behind us the hide-and-seek games
that characterised the relationship between tax officials and
taxpayers in the yester years.
Kenyans will recall that the introduction of the Electronic Tax
Register was met with acrimony and suspicion, and for the first
time in the history of tax administration in this country,
compliant taxpayers were taken with surprise as they
witnessed street demonstrations against KRA.
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Taxpayers can now agree with me that contrary to the
misconception that ETR was intrusive, expensive and only
meant to safeguard government revenues, the reality is that
the device helps in self-supervision and monitoring of business
transactions.
Your Excellency Sir,
We have undertaken a wide range of reform initiatives in the
Customs Services Department, aimed at not only supporting
the Authority’s mandate of revenue collection, but also
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facilitating trade, compilation of international trade statistics,
and protection of our borders from the threats of terrorist
activities and entry of harmful substances. In this regard, we
are happy that the Simba System of electronic Custom
clearance introduced in 2005 is fully operational, and has
revolutionised document processing and cargo release times.
The Road Transport Department has also made considerable
strides in reform and modernisation agenda.
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The department has in the last four years put in place
document scanning and imaging that helps to electronically
process and retrieve information on registered motor vehicles
and drivers. In 2006, KRA unveiled a security printed and
electronically produced new generation Log Book. Many more
initiatives are underway; all aimed at improving service delivery
to the customer, and reducing the perennial long queues and
missing files, previously associated with the department.
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Your Excellency Sir,
KRA enjoys cordial working relationships with other
government agencies, and revenue authorities within the East
Africa region on all aspects of tax administration as well as in
the fight against terrorism and trafficking of drugs and harmful
substances. In this regard, I want to sincerely salute all the
Commissioners General and delegations from the regional
Revenue Authorities, who are in our midst today. The Authority
also enjoys a good standing among its peers both from within
the African continent and internationally as attested to by the
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numerous partnerships and information exchanges enjoyed
with global institutions such as World Customs Organisation
(WCO), Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators
(CATA) and Inter-American Centre for Tax Administration
(CIAT), just to mention but a few.
Your Excellency Sir,
Your recent directive to have Kilindini Port and all other
Customs border stations to operate twenty four hours has been
fully complied with.
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In this regard, I wish to report that between the 18th of August,
when the 24 hour directive came into force and 15th October
this year, a total of 33,644 containers and 11,939 motor vehicle
units had been cleared to exit the Kilindini Port. On average
about 39% of all the goods are moved at night while 61% are
moved during the day. I am also happy to report that all the
government agencies and other stakeholders, including the
Kenya Police, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Ports
Authority and KIFWA have embraced the 24-hour operation.
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However, discussions are still on-going under the auspices of
East African Community Secretariat to make the necessary
legislative changes to the East African Community Customs
Management Act in a bid to ensure full take-up of the 24-hour
operation by all the countries within the region. Since the
commencement of the 24 hour operations at the port, both
KPA and ourselves have observed an increase in “transit” cargo
as a percentage of the total cargo.
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We are investigating this phenomenon since economic realities
do not support it. We shall catch up with those agents who
may be declaring cargo destined for their warehouses in
Nairobi and Mombasa as transit in order to evade the payment
of full Port charges and taxes.
Regarding the perennial backlog in VAT refunds, I wish to
report to you Sir that KRA has already put in place a task force
to streamline refund processes.
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In order for us to realise this objective, there is urgent need
for availability of financial resources in proportion to
outstanding claims. We shall be holding discussions with our
Principal, The Treasury, in order to agree on the resources
needed and how they shall be availed. I would like to assure
you Sir that we shall fully comply with your directive within the
stipulated time frame.
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Your Excellency Sir,
Kenya Revenue Authority is gratified by the sacrifice and
commitment demonstrated by the organisations which are
going to be awarded today, in mobilising their resources to
support the national objective of making our country financially
self reliant. The awards are based on the following criteria:-
� Embracing and supporting tax reform and modernisation
programmes being implemented by Kenya Revenue
Authority.
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� Absolute amount of taxes paid.
� Outstanding growth in revenue.
� Voluntary compliance with tax legislation.
� Cooperation with auditors and compliance officers from
KRA.
� Collaboration in fight against illicit trade.
� Timely filing of returns and
� Remarkable accuracy of tax returns among others.
While commanding the awardees for a job well done, I wish to
encourage other taxpayers to continue pursuing the path of
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excellence in handling their tax matters, as there will be yet
another opportunity to win an award.
In conclusion, Your Excellency Sir, I wish to once again thank
you for your unwavering support which symbolises the much
desired political support for the Revenue administration. I
believe with similar support from leaders down the hierarchy,
we shall always meet and surpass our targets, for the good of
our country.
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I now wish to call upon the chairman of the KRA Board of
directors Mr. Leonard Mwangola to make his remarks.
Tulipe Ushuru, Tujitegemee.
Thank You
M.G. WAWERU,
EBSCOMMISSIONER GENERAL
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