KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu has announced that the agency has launched an onslaught against persons involved in illegal business activities popularly known as ‘Wash Wash’.
Speaking during an interview with Hot 96 on Tuesday, Githii noted that the agency is using social media identify and crack the whip on persons involved in such businesses.
“We are on the neck of even this 'wash wash' people. We are monitoring all their transactions,” he said.
Defending the move to use social media as an avenue of identifying potential tax cheats, Githii noted that the agency is keen on ensuring all Kenyans pay taxes owed to the government, adding that their motive is not to scare away Kenyans.
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KRA Commissioner-General Githii Mburu during an interview on HOT 96 radio. [Photo: Courtesy]
“I want mwananchi to know that we are partners and we wish taxpayers well. We only aim to ensure that you are paying your rightful share of taxes.
“We are not out to stop Kenyans from enjoying themselves. We actually support people excelling. Keep enjoying yourselves. We are looking for tax cheats,” he added.
The crackdown on ‘wash wash’ businesses comes a few days after the agency announced that it has assigned a number of officers to spend time to social media scouting for wealthy persons whose tax records are not in line with what they showcase online.
Some of the social media sites KRA is keen on infiltrating include; Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook where socialites and other influential personalities always share private details of their lives.
"In the social media, we have some people posting some nice things. You would see some posting nice houses, cars, taking their families to nice places and so on. Here, we are not sleeping, when we see those, we see taxes.
"We have our officers looking, they have gadgets. They key in very quickly (the number plate) to check. We are working exceptionally hard," the KRA boss said during an interview with Business Daily.
