- Kenyan residents will now have to pay taxes on their cryptocurrency trades and exchanges, as per the recent decision by the government.
- The government official in charge of finance, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary, has announced the release of new rules that have been published.
Kenya has put a new tax of 1.5% on cryptocurrency trading and exchange for over four million people in the country. However, in April 2023, the tax will be removed for foreign operations, according to William Ruto, the President of Kenya.
Kenya plans to adopt a global framework on multinational taxation in 2024. The country has been targeting digital asset platforms and crypto exchanges to generate revenue since 2020.
Kenya To Pay Crypto Taxes
In 2021, Kenya earned $45.5 million in taxes from crypto trading and exchanges, which amounted to five billion Kenyan shillings. The regulations published by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u include value-added taxes on digital marketplaces and electronics, among other supplies. These regulations aim to position Kenya as a player in the global crypto exchange market.
Furthermore, the published regulations added,
“These regulations say that services like helping people pay for things online or exchanging digital assets will be subject to taxes, except for some services that are exempt under the law”.
Kenya has one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency use in Africa, after Nigeria and South Africa. Even though the Central Bank of Kenya has not authorized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, many people still buy and sell them. As a result, the government has imposed taxes on cryptocurrency trading to generate revenue.
