The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has launched a tax club at Mary Hill Girls High School. This initiative is part of KRA’s countrywide outreach program aimed at raising tax awareness among students in high schools and colleges, with the goal of instilling a tax-paying culture in the youthful population. So far, the program has reached over 1000 schools and 15,000 students.
The Mary Hill chapter of the tax club was launched during this year’s International Women’s Day celebrations to highlight KRA’s commitment to empowering and celebrating women. The tax club aims to equip over 400 students with fundamental tax administration knowledge, including various tax heads, the uses of tax, KRA’s mandate, tax audit procedures, and international tax regulations. By promoting a culture of tax compliance, the program is preparing students for future employment.
Through the tax club initiative, students become ambassadors for public education on tax issues, creating a voluntary tax-paying culture among Kenyans and inculcating a positive attitude towards tax compliance from a young age. KRA supports these tax clubs by organizing tax debates, symposia, tax talks, writing competitions, and other activities, and providing club members with adequate tax information to disseminate to other students, communities, and neighbouring institutions.
KRA is committed to enhancing the capacity of these schools and turning them into Centers of Excellence for basic tax concepts. These centres will serve as resources for other schools seeking guidance on taxation matters, conduct online programs, and initiate tax clubs in their regions. This snowballing approach is expected to enhance the recruitment of additional schools to establish their own tax clubs and recruit additional tax ambassadors, further enhancing tax literacy, perception, and morale among the school-going population.
KRA is investing in tax literacy programs to enable students to appreciate the importance of paying taxes and foster a culture of tax compliance.