The Kenyan government collected $77.5 million in taxes from cryptocurrency traders in the past fiscal year.

Kenya aims to collect $465 million in cryptocurrency taxes.

The Kenyan government collected $77.5 million (10 billion shillings) in taxes from cryptocurrency traders in the 2023-24 fiscal year, Anthony Mwaura, head of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), recently revealed. Mwaura, speaking at an event honoring Kenyan taxpayers, stated that this tax was collected from 384 cryptocurrency traders.

KRA is targeting to collect over $465 million solely from cryptocurrency traders. Overall, the agency aims to collect $158.8 billion over the next five years, and the cryptocurrency industry has been identified by the Kenyan government as a key target.

To enhance its ability to collect additional revenue from the cryptocurrency sector, KRA recently proposed the installation of a real-time tax system integrated with cryptocurrency exchanges. This system is expected to capture crucial information such as the time and value of transactions.

Mwaura also revealed the steps that KRA has taken to increase tax revenue from cryptocurrency traders.

Mwaura stated, "The [KRA] officials told us that if we agree with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), this year, we will be able to talk to those agents and we could earn 60 billion Sh [465 million dollars]."

Although Kenya is home to one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in Africa, the country is still struggling to collect taxes from cryptocurrency traders. However, in the first half of 2023, the Kenyan Treasury announced it would begin imposing a 1.5% digital tax on revenues from cryptocurrency exchanges.

Several factors continue to hinder the Kenya Revenue Authority's (KRA) ability to track and monitor cryptocurrency transactions, including the lack of a comprehensive legal framework for cryptocurrency. Low public awareness and the volatility of cryptocurrency are also believed to be affecting KRA's ability to collect taxes from cryptocurrency traders.

However, KRA's Director General, Mr. Wattanga, stated that the agency would use machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data analytics to help collect more taxes from cryptocurrency traders.
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