The Kenya Revenue Authority Demands Tax Compliance From Upwork Freelancers

The Kenyan Revenue Authority is keen on regulating its tax policies on the digital sector of the country whereby content creators and other aspects of freelancing are subjected to comply with the in-land regulatory system.

The chief consent of this report hovers over the value-added tax the Kenyan government demands from the Upwork freelancing landscape compiled per the in-land digital tax policy rational enough to acknowledge exemptions to other tax-paying users/freelancers.

While other freelancing platforms’ tax compliance remains uncertain, the Kenyan regulatory system is focused on taxing Upwork due to the limelight recognition the freelancing network has accomplished over the years of networking upskilled talents per task completion in the country.

The Kenyan government regulatory system designed to tax content creators and the freelancing landscape at large is keen on moderating the theoretical Contract Cheating whereby Kenyan freelancers complete tasks on Upwork which indirectly completes assignments for Western students overseas.

It is worth noting that the Kenyan government reportedly bred its indigenes to be tech savvy which helps the country grow its standard of living via the Ajira digital program designed to tutor a cohort digital literacy on the Kenyan population.

It is intriguing how the Kenyan government could nurture this initiative that would yield futuristic beneficiary outcomes by generating revenue funds from taxing their protégés — the digitally literate population and trainees from the Ajira Academy.

However, Kenyans who have worked on any freelancing platform can tell you they never had any tax obligations to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) until now which connotes how innovation has impacted the change of time.

Upwork support page prompts freelancers in Kenya about the platform’s compliance with the KRA’s policy: “Kenya requires Upwork to collect value-added tax, or VAT, and remit the tax to the government of Kenya. VAT is a tax on goods or services, including our services to you, and remit means to send money for payment,” the website reads.

VAT will be collected and remitted by Upwork to the Kenyan government and those eligible for exemptions must provide a valid tax certificate.