The newest tax in Kenya – Digital Service Tax – came into effect on 2 January 2020 following the gazettement of The Income Tax (Digital Service Tax) Regulations, 2020, which provide guidelines on the operation of the tax. The intended effect of the DST is to rope in certain incomes derived or accrued in Kenya through a digital market into the tax bracket.
This is owing to the fact that since the Covid-19 pandemic, there arose a drastic shift to online businesses and use of online platforms, which were at the time not subject to income tax. This led to deliberations on how the digital sector could be taxed which culminated into the introduction of the novel digital service tax. Click here to find out more about the DST, its operation, applicability and rates.
