KRA To Tax You For Downloading Mobile Apps – In The New VAT(Digital Market Place Supply) Proposals

In the  regulations contained in the Value Added Tax (Digital Market Place Supply) regulations, 2020.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)plans to tax every Kenyan downloading e-books, movies, and mobile apps.

In the new proposals, KRA wants to tax news, magazines, journals, streaming of TV shows and music, podcasts, and online gaming.

“A digital market place supply shall be deemed to have been made in Kenya where the recipient of the supply is in Kenya, the payment proxy including credit card information and bank account details of the recipient of the digital supplies is in Kenya; or the residence proxy including the billing or home address or access proxy including Internet Proxy address, mobile country code of SIM card of the recipient is in Kenya,” says KRA in the proposals.

If the proposals, which are in the public participation stage, sail through, you will also be taxed for downloading software, drivers, website filters and firewalls.

Other targeted services include website hosting, online data warehousing, file-sharing, and cloud storage services.

Supply of music, films, games, tickets bought for live events, theaters and restaurants purchased through the internet will also be taxed.

Online learners will also bear the brunt as all materials for online learning supplied through the internet will be taxed.