KRA Goes After Kenyans Displaying Lavish Lifestyles on Social Media

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has taken the war on tax cheats and evaders to social media.

KRA Commissioner-General Githii Mburu said the agency is now closely monitoring Kenyans displaying lavish lifestyles on social media but remitting little or no taxes.

Officers are snooping on social media users posting pictures of luxury cars and houses, throwing lavish parties, and showing off stylish lifestyles to ensure their tax returns match their image.

"In the social media, we have some people posting some nice things. You would see some posting nice houses, cars, taking their families to nice places, and so on. Here, we are not sleeping, when we see those, we see taxes," Mburu told Business Daily.

He further stated that the crackdown is keen on drivers of high-end vehicles.

"We have our officers looking, they have gadgets. They key in very quickly (the number plate) to check. We are working exceptionally hard," said Mburu.

He warned that those found to be evading taxes risk travel bans, collection of duty directly from their suppliers and bankers, and even arrest and prosecution.

The crackdown is part of the taxman’s efforts to bring more people into the tax bracket and curb tax cheating and evasion.

In October, KRA collected Sh154.3 billion, surpassing its target of Sh142.2 billion for the month by Sh12 billion.