Kenyan MPs Submit Bill on Imposing Tax on Crypto

Kenya is likely to impose taxes on cryptocurrencies and NFTs after lawmakers submitted a bill to the Kenyan parliament on this matter.

The Kenyan parliamentarians called for introducing a 3% tax on cryptocurrency and nonfungible token transfers and a 15% tax on monetized online content, according to Cointelegraph. This call came as a part of the Finance Bill 2023, which calls for enacting digital asset taxes on income earned from the transfer or exchange of digital assets and NFTs also.

The Kenyan National Assembly should do readings and revise the draft law for five rounds before passing it and if it was passed, the president should ratify it to be in force.

So the Kenyan government will collect 3% of the value of transfers of cryptocurrencies and NFTs done by crypto exchanges or persons. Crypto exchanges, which are not registered in Kenya, have to register under the tax regime.

But such a bill, if applied, means that the crypto and NFTs are recognized in the African country, a matter which cancels a warning issued by the Central Bank of Kenya against using the crypto.

In terms of crypto adaption, Kenya is one of the most 20 countries whose people possess crypto, coming in 19th place, according to a Chainalysis report issued in September.

Despite being one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world, Africa’s crypto market is still the smallest in terms of crypto transactions reaching $20 billion per month in mid-2021, according to Chainalysis. Africa’s crypto market increased by more than 1,200% between July 2020 and June 2021, with Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, and Tanzania leading adoption.