MOMBASA — The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced plans to recruit 10,000 agents this year in a bid to make tax services more accessible, especially for small businesses and rural communities that often struggle to reach its offices.
The new model, commonly used in the banking sector, is designed to decentralise services and ease the burden of compliance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“These agents will provide basic services such as registration, tax filing and payments,” said George Obell, the acting commissioner for micro and small taxpayers. Speaking during a Citizen Assembly forum at SwahiliPot Hub in Mombasa, he added: “It is also an opportunity for Kenyans to earn commissions while helping fellow citizens meet their tax obligations.”
KRA currently operates 136 service centres across the country, serving about 22 million registered taxpayers. But most of these facilities are in towns and cities, leaving many Kenyans in rural areas without reliable access.
Obell said the agent model would help close that gap while cutting both the time and cost of compliance. He acknowledged, however, that digital services have not been a complete solution. “One of the most persistent challenges we have heard relates to digital access,” he said. “Not everyone has a smartphone, stable internet, or the literacy needed to use platforms like iTax or eTIMS.”
To address this, KRA has introduced a USSD code — *222# — which allows any mobile phone user to retrieve or verify tax PINs and access basic services. For smartphone users, the authority has also launched a WhatsApp chatbot to provide real-time assistance.
Alongside these tools, KRA is expanding tax education and outreach. “Our focus is not on the past,” Obell said. “We are here to empower and support taxpayers for the future.”
Lydia Rono, a KRA board director, reminded Kenyans of the broader importance of compliance. “Taxes are the lifeblood of the economy,” she told participants. “A country that cannot mobilise its own revenue cannot develop at the pace its citizens expect.”
She added that the Citizen Assembly forums, now taking place across the country, are intended to give taxpayers a voice in shaping the system. “We are here to listen, to learn and to collaborate in building a more efficient and trusted tax system,” she said.
For the KRA, the recruitment of agents marks a significant shift in how services are delivered. For Kenyans, it could mean fewer long trips to urban centres — and, perhaps, a new sense of inclusion in a system long seen as distant and bureaucratic.
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