The Kenya Revenue Authority has hit the one trillion mark of revenue collection after collecting Sh1.03 trillion as of December 8. This is equivalent to a growth of Sh180.714 billion (15.8%) compared to Sh156.095 billion collected in November 2022.
According to a KRA, revenue collection in the country has increased progressively in the past five months (July–November 2023) after it collected Sh963.746 billion compared to Sh856.646 billion collected in the same period in the last financial year, representing a growth of 12.5%.
“In spite of progressive growth, the collection was affected by the performance of key economic indicators that directly drive revenue collection. These key indicators have generally moved contrary to expectations, with an adverse impact on revenue mobilization,” KRA said.
According to KRA, one of the key indicators that affected the collection was the constant depreciation of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar by 24.7% in November and 22% in July. Additionally, increased prices for fuel products, which led to a decline in import demand, made the situation worse.
“While import value in Kenya shillings grew by 36% and 11.1% from July to November in dollar terms, the growth for the month was subdued to 9.0% and a decline of 9.2% recorded cumulatively.”
The authority further stated that revenue was also affected by domestic demand, as indicated by the Slowed Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which was 47.18 points in July–November 2023, compared to 48.66 points in July–November 2022.
