The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is now after Principals and Headteachers who failed to remit 1.5% of their Board of Management (BOM) teachers and support staff monthly gross income towards the Housing fund since.

The tax collector now wants the school heads of both primary and secondary schools to ensure 1.5% housing levy is deducted from the teachers and support staff gross income each month.

KRA also wants those who failed to pay the levy to have their salaries chopped to pay the July,  August, September, and October arrears.

In one of the notices issued and seen by Teacher Arena, KRA demands 1.5% deducted from secondary school BOM employees and employers gross income with effect from 1st July 2023.

Read also:

Big Win For PHD Teachers in Primary Schools as Machogu Directs TSC to Promote Them Immediately

Primary School heads to Become JSS Principals in New Promotions, Machogu

Primary School Heads Demand to be Confirmed as JSS Principals

KNEC, MOE on Fire After 200,000 Unregistered Candidates Sat For KCPE

“The levy will be deducted by employers from employees gross salary and be remitted to Kenya Revenue Authority together with the employers contribution,” read a notice to secondary school heads in Vihiga and Kakamega counties by KRA Department for Domestic Taxes.

Since the passing of the Finance Act, all employees are mandated to pay 1.5% of their gross income towards the housing fund.

Employers are also required to remit the same percentage towards the kitty to support their employees.

Many schools have BOM teachers to support the TSC teachers who are struggling with a huge teaching load resulting from acute teacher shortage.

Schools also have other employees to support in other areas. These include Watchmen, Cooks, Librarians, Bursar etc.

This means beginning January when schools reopen things may change for this category of employees who mostly are paid casually without payslips.

Schools are left with no other option but to deduct and remit the funds to KRA, However the big problem will be schools (employers)remitting the same amount to KRA as required.

KRA warned of consequences should school heads continue paying their staff without deducting and remitting the housing tax.

KNUT secretary general Collins Oyuu has cast fresh accusations against former secretary general Wilson Sossion for drowning the union the jumping out for his safety. According to Oyuu, Sossion left KNUT in debts, including unpaid taxes amounting to over ksh. 300M yet it the union was receiving union dues and agency fees.

He confirmed that Knut has not been able to pay over Sh301 million in accrued debts to Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) despite receiving union dues and agency fees from non-members.

“The union was also left with a huge debt amounting to millions of shillings, owed to several lawyers who had been contracted for the numerous cases that were pending in court.We are surprised that some-one who left the union willingly and did not contest for elections is busy writing letters to KRA trying to correct the debt. I have asked KRA to furnish us with the figures,” Oyuu said.

Related Posts:

JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2022 TSC REPLACEMENT INTERVIEW MERIT LISTS PER COUNTY

A Pupil From a Famous School Loses Left Hand In a Fast Moving School Bus

A Principal Collapses After His Wife, 4 Girlfriends Unite to Host him for A Valentine’s Lunchdate

Teachers Unions Hail TSC For adding paternity, maternity leave offs

Junior Secondary Schools To Have Separate Boards Of Management

Sossion Wants Parliament To Force TSC To Award teachers’ qualification

“Since last year, auctioneers have taken away furniture at Knut headquarters. Some lawyers had even attached the Knut building for auctioning,” he added.

In a letter to KRA, Mr Sossion has disputed that he left a debt of over Sh300 million.

“I find these allegations malicious, spiteful and untrue, designed to taint my image and integrity. If you check your records, KRA unpaid revenue as of June 25 last year is lower than Sh32 million since TSC stopped remit-ting union dues in July 2019,” he wrote in a February 10 letter.

Mr Sossion has asked KRA to furnish him with authentic records of the unpaid revenue to prepare for his”handover””.

But yesterday, Mr Oyuu dismissed Mr Sossion’s letter, adding that there are “many other debts”.

Oyuu also maintained that KNUT is slowly rebuilding after being weakened and losing thousands of its members.

According to the union leadership, membership has jumped to more than 114,000 in the ongoing recruitment that was launched last month.

The union had hit rock bottom under former secretary-general Wilson Sossion due to perennial wrangles with Teachers Service Commission (TSC) boss Nancy Macharia.

There are, however, signs of recovery as the new National Executive Council (NEC) has launched a massive campaign to rebuild its membership.

However, unlike before when Knut had membership from all cadres of teaching, it can now only represent primary school teachers after signing a new recognition agreement with the

TSC, which has 223,218 primary school teachers in its employ. Secretary-general Collins Oyuu dismissed critics who say the union has become a government project.

“By June last year, the union membership had dropped from over 187,000 members to 14,000. Most of our branch offices were also non-operational as only 15 were functioning. The union is now back on its feet and all branches are operational, “he said.

Between June 2019 and June last year, Knut lost its huge following after TSC resorted to excluding them from promotions and pay increments contained in the 2017-2021 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

The commission also starved the union of dues from teachers.

Before the troubles began, the union used to receive over Sh144 million in monthly union dues. However, by last year, the income had dropped to less than Sh20 million, making it unable to pay salaries and medical insurance for its staff.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has initiated a pilot project that will see students in high schools and colleges learn why they will need to pay taxes.

The taxman has identified five secondary schools and a university to be centres of excellence and kick-start the tax education programme.

They are Pwani University, Kyeni Girls High School in Embu, Kanga High School in Migori, Starehe Girls Centre in Kiambu, AIC Chebisaas in Uasin Gishu, and Nakuru Girls High School in Nakuru.

To be considered as a centre of excellence, the institutions must have a functioning tax club and a well-equipped library. They must also excel in their studies.

Read also:

Stakeholders Propose Channeling of Annual Leave Allowance Towards TPD Training

Teachers Now Allowed To Pay Ksh. 20 Daily For TPD Modules

Unemployed P1 Teachers To Wait Longer For Employment Even After Self-sponsored Upgrading

Teachers Who Fail Consistently in TPD Tests Likely To Be Removed From Payroll

2021 List Of P1 Teachers Moved To Secondary Schools Per County

List of TSC Appointed Headteachers, principals, Deputies and senior teachers Per County

TSC Reveals Why It Locked Out Other Universities From Offering TPD Modules

Speaking during the project launch at Nakuru Girls on Wednesday, KRA Chief Manager, Stakeholder Engagement and Taxpayer Education Andrew Osiany said the taxman is championing tax literacy to enable students to appreciate the importance of paying taxes.

Mr Osiany said that KRA will partner with the schools to mainstream tax training in the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).

He said that KRA will enhance the capacity of the centres to equip them to the same level like other learning institutions in their regions. “These centres will be consulted by other schools on taxation matters; hold tax talks, symposiums, tax debates, online programmes, and initiate other tax clubs around their regions.”

The institutions will be taught tax administration matters; the meaning of tax, uses of tax, the mandate of KRA, tax audit process and international tax, among others, Osiany said.

KRA South Rift Valley Regional Coordinator Nelson Mukuriah said that tax education must be done from the basic level “to change the negative attitude to paying taxes.”

“KRA is viewed as a hostile institution that rudely demands money from Kenyans. However, the narrative must change and Kenyans must realise that the taxes they pay are beneficial to them,” he said.

Nakuru Girls Principal Rose Menjo promised to start a tax club in the school.

Teachers under the teacher’s service commission, TSC, who will fail to file their KRA returns by 30^th June will risk missing their salaries since KRA has raised its penalty for failing to file returns.

KRA had earlier on announced that Kenyans who fail to file their tax returns by the 30^th June deadline will risk losing their KRA pin number. Teachers pay is subjected to taxation, which is only possible with a KRA pin.

“If the KRA pin numbers are revoked, payment won’t be effected for non-payment of tax,” explained a Garissa based KRA officer.

Related posts:

Lists Of TSC Promoted Teachers 2021 Per County

Details of delocalized Heads In May 2021

A School Awards Top KCSE 2021 Candidate Ksh. 650,000 And A Car

Lenana School KCSE 2020 Results Analysis and Distribution of Grades

All Career guidance / Guidance and counselling teachers to undergo KEMI-KUCCPS Training

How To File Your KRA Nil Returns This Year

5 Easiest Steps to File KRA Returns Using A Mobile Phone

Easier Ways To File your KRA Returns If You Are a KNEC Contracted Professional-Trouble With Withholding Tax?

The officer stressed that KRA published a new notice saying persons who have failed to file their respective tax returns without showing cause will lose their pin numbers after the lapse of the 30 day window period.

“Failure to file returns, unless cause is shown to the contrary, the commission of domestic taxes will have their pin deregistered and cancelled from the KRA system,” read part of the KRA notice.

In the KRA website, KRA listed 67727 pins intended for deregistration next month. The website further shows that teachers and other employed persons should file their tax returns using their P9 forms.

The list set for cancellation is linked to an estimated 7107 groups, individual accounts with balance, companies, schools and self-help groups.

More Posts:

Biometric Enrollment and Validation of teachers to begin next week-Required documents

KCSE Results 2020 Grade Distribution Per School

KCSE 2020 TOP SCHOOLS In Order Of Mean scores

Kisii High School KCSE Results 2020 and grades distribution

Riokindo Boys  KCSE 2020 Results and grades distribution

The intended deregistration and cancelation of the pins is part of KRA’s move to enforce tax returns compliance as provided in the 2015 tax procedure act. In this respect, KRA has asked tax payers to take advantage of the ongoing voluntary tax disclosure programme to rationalize outstanding tax payments and meet the filling requirements.

“ The tax payers are also encouraged to ta take advantage of the VTDP and apply, disclose and pay their outstanding liability with relief on interest and penalties,” read the notice. next.

In a new notice published on Monday, the taxman said persons who have already failed to file their respective tax returns without showing cause will lose their pins after the lapse of a 30 day window.

“Failure to file returns, unless cause is shown to the contrary, the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes shall have their personal identification numbers (PINs) de-registered and cancelled from the KRA system,” read part the notice.

Read also:

How To File Your KRA Nil Returns This Year

5 Easiest Steps to File KRA Returns Using A Mobile Phone

Easier Ways To File your KRA Returns If You Are a KNEC Contracted Professional-Trouble With Withholding Tax?

On its website, the tax collection agency has listed 62,727 pins intended for de-registration in the next one month.

The list of pins set for cancellation are linked to an estimated 7,107 individual accounts with the balance, a majority, comprising of companies, schools and self-help-groups.

The intended de-registration and cancellation of the pins is part of KRA’s move to enforce tax returns compliance as provided for by the 2015, Tax Procedures Act.

KRA has asked tax payers to take advantage of its ongoing voluntary tax disclosure program (VTDP) to rationalize outstanding tax payments and meet the filing requirement.

“Taxpayers are also encouraged to take advantage of the Voluntary Tax Disclosure Program and apply, disclose and pay their outstanding liability with a relief on interest and penalties,” added KRA.

The loss of KRA pins is expected to have detrimental effects as the identification number being a prerequisite to processes such as the opening of bank accounts, jobs applications and even land registration.

Don’t lose your KRA pin:

Click here to file your returns if you are salaried or in a registered business

Click here to file your nil returns if you are a student, or unemployed but have KRA pin.

All Kenyans with an active KRA PIN on iTax must ensure that they file their KRA Returns by 30th June of each year.

The Tax Procedures Act states that if a return is not submitted by the respective due date a penalty of ksh. 2000 will be imposed.

Read also:

5 Easiest Steps to File KRA Returns Using A Mobile Phone

Easier Ways To File your KRA Returns If You Are a KNEC Contracted Professional-Trouble With Withholding Tax?

Those with KRA pin but not yet employed are expected to file nil returns. This group includes university/ college students and unemployed graduates. Those who are employed should click here to apply. KNEC examiners/ supervisors/ invigilators/ centre managers who took part in last years exams should click here to file their returns.

Requirements For Filing KRA Nil Returns

To be able to file your KRA Nil Returns on iTax, you need to ensure that you have with you KRA PIN Number and KRA iTax Password.

Step by Step Guide on How to File KRA Nil Returns

Step 1: Visit KRA iTax Portal Using https://itax.kra.go.ke/KRA-Portal/

Using your KRA PIN number and iTax Password, Log into your iTax account at https://itax.kra.go.ke/KRA-Portal

Step 2: Log Into KRA iTax iPage Dashboard

Once you have successfully logged into your iTax account (iPage) you should see the following as shown above.

Step 3: Click On Returns Tab on top of your browser 

On your iTax account top panel menu, Click on Returns and then File Nil Return.

Step 4: Select The Nil e-Return 

In the type  section, select Self. It will populate your KRA PIN Number and in the Tax Obligation – Income Tax Resident. Click Next to proceed.

Step 5: Fill The Income Tax – Resident Individual Nil e-Return Form

In this part, you select the return period. Period begins on 1^st January of the prervious year and ends on 31^st December of the same year E.g when filling 2020 returns in 2021, the dates used are 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020. Click on the submit button to proceed.

Step 6: Download KRA Nil Returns Receipt

Upon successful submission of your KRA Nil Returns, a return receipt will be generated with an acknowledgement number. Download the returns receipt and print a copy of it.

Step 7: Print e-Return Acknowledgement Receipt

The last and final step will involve printing the KRA e-Return Acknowledgement Receipt that you downloaded. This is a final indication that you have successfully filed the KRA Nil Returns.