Tax authorities in Africa are now training their guns on cryptocurrency users, in fresh efforts to net tax evaders relying on the borderless nature of unconventional digital assets and their lack of regulatory oversights. With the growing prominence of the crypto assets on the continent as ownership and transactions gain momentum, authorities are now paying attention to the digital currencies as a possible source of extra tax revenues. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is among the tax agencies that are now looking at the digital assets as a source of additional tax revenue, coming amidst consistent failed revenue targets. This week, KRA disclosed plans to procure a new digital tax system with the aim of capturing crypto trade transactions, which have mostly been out of the tax bracket due to their anonymity and lack of regulatory scrutiny. For Sars, the move on crypto users is meant to expand the tax bracket to reduce the tax burden borne by the compliant taxpayers.

Source: Daily Nation October 19, 2024 12:02 UTC