Kenyan Law Taxes Cryptocurrencies Protects Consumers

Kenya’s Capital Markets Act was subject to a possible amendment that was suggested on November 21. If this amendment were to become law, individuals holding cryptocurrencies or engaging in cryptocurrency trading would be required to provide the Kenya Capital Markets Authority with information about their activities in order to determine how much tax should be collected from those activities. activities.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that cryptocurrencies have been incorporated into any of Kenya’s financial regulatory systems.

According to the Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill, Kenyans would be required to report and pay capital gains tax to the Kenya Revenue Authority if they sell or buy digital currencies. This obligation is detailed in the legislation.

no cryptocurrency that is held for more than a year will be subject to capital gains tax, while any cryptocurrency that is held for less than a year would be subject to income tax on its value.

In Kenya, there is a graduated tax on income ranging from 10 percent to 30 percent.

As a result of the bill, a centralized electronic registry of all transactions involving digital currencies would be created across the country, which would also make it possible for individual cryptocurrency traders to register with the government. Furthermore, it would recognize digital currencies as securities.

Kenya ranks 19th in the world for the number of people using cryptocurrency, and ranks 5th for peer-to-peer trading, according to a survey by Chainalysis published in September.

At the same time that Kenyan President William Ruto is making a call to broaden the country’s revenue base, the possibility of taking the step now being discussed is being considered.

It is estimated that around 4 million people in this country make use of various cryptocurrencies.

Due to the fact that approximately 8.5% of the population lives in privately owned houses, Kenya now has the fifth highest property ownership rate in the world.