(Nairobi) – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) surpassed its targets for betting tax and excise tax on betting services in October 2024, with collections exceeding the targets by KSh 16 million and KSh 50 million, respectively. This success is attributed to the ongoing European football leagues, including the English Premier League (EPL), La Liga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1, which typically draw significant betting activity from punters.
Despite the positive performance in the betting sector, the KRA’s overall tax revenue collection in October showed weaknesses in other areas. PAYE collections from the private sector experienced a shortfall of KSh 1.2 billion, attributed to a decrease in average monthly cash pay per employee. From June to September 2024, the average pay dropped to KSh 75,781, down from KSh 78,034 in the same period the previous year. This decline is linked to ongoing organizational restructuring efforts by companies to manage operational costs.
Domestic VAT collections also fell short by KSh 2.4 billion. According to KRA, several sectors—including administrative and support services, electricity, oil and gas, finance, professional and scientific services, transport, and wholesale and retail trade—reported a 26.3% drop in their VAT contributions. These sectors account for roughly one-third of the domestic VAT normally collected in October. Sales turnover in these industries decreased by 14.7%, though inputs saw a slight increase of 0.5%.
In addition, excise duty collections on money transfers showed a deficit of KSh 728 million, attributed to a 10.6% decline in remittance transactions from banks. This drop in bank transactions reflects a broader trend of reduced transaction values.
Further excise duty shortfalls were recorded in the domestic market, where the KRA reported a decline of KSh 573 million. This decline was mainly driven by lower remittances from manufacturers of products like beer, bottled water, tobacco, and soft drinks. The sectors saw drops in deliveries by 2.3%, 7.9%, 6.6%, and 12.2%, respectively, which affected the overall excise duty collections.