Greetings and welcome to the eleventh Money Weekly Roundup of 2024! 

It’s less than 10 days until KRA's deadline for eTIMS registration, a new tax order that changes almost every aspect of tax compliance in Kenya. The implementation is facing pushback from farmers, doctors, and small business owners.

Meanwhile, the Affordable Housing Act, 2023, newly signed by President William Ruto on Tuesday, is facing a legal hurdle after a doctor in Nakuru filed to stop the commencement of levy collection.

As always, we’ve included some of our favourite personal finance articles in our Finance Tips section below.

Let’s dive in.

NEWS RECAP

What happened this week

📝 Transition to eTIMS Continues Despite Pushback

Late last month, a video of Murang’a avocado farmers chasing away KRA officers made the rounds on the internet. The avocado farmers were objecting to the new KRA eTIMS Lite system, which they were being trained on. 

The system is supposed to be used by small business traders to generate electronic invoices. This is how the KRA plans to bring informal business people into the tax net.

Objections

Farmers are among the groups adversely affected by this new requirement. Some farmers are not very familiar with such digital solutions, posing a big learning curve. Others reside in areas where the internet is unreliable, posing challenges during transactions.

Others who have objected to eTIMS onboarding are doctors running private practices. They claim that generating invoices using the new system risks violating patient doctor confidentiality. Read More.

Despite the objections, KRA has set the end of March 2024, as the deadline for onboarding existing businesses. After March, new businesses will be onboarded upon inception.

A Breakdown of eTIMS

Kenyans have also been raising issues they are experiencing with the system. To address these issues, KRA issued a press statement to clarify the following issues.

1. Information confidentiality: The invoice only captures transaction details, as in any other invoice/receipt.

2. Invoices as evidence of income:  Invoices are evidence of business transactions. Tax is only charged on income and not on the value of the transaction.

3. eTIMS solutions: KRA has created solutions to help various businesses onboard the eTIMS system.

   1. eTIMS Lite - available for non-VAT registered taxpayers. This is accessible through the eCitizen portal and USSD *222#. It is usable for traders with minimal transactions.

   2. eTIMS online portal - Exclusive to taxpayers in the service sector. Accessible through the web browser.

   3. eTIMS client - This is software suitable for taxpayers dealing in goods, or both goods and services. Can be used with multiple branches and paypoints. 

      1. eTIMS Windows paypoint - suitable for single location with single paypoint

      2. eTIMS Windows multipaypoint - suitable for multiple locations and/or multiple paypoints

      3. eTIMS Android - suitable for taxpayers with minimal transactions. Accessible through smartphones, tablets, and PDA devices.

4. eTIMS system-to-system integrations - This system allows the integration of a business's current invoicing system with eTIMS instead of a separate invoicing system. It comes in two packages. Read More.

   1. Virtual Sales Control Unit (VSCU) - Caters to taxpayers with extensive transitions and bulk invoicing.

   2. Online Sales Control Unit (OSCU) - Suitable for taxpayers using an online invoicing system

😞 Despair For Kenyan Graduates

The distance between a fresh graduate and their first job interview is 98 applications. This is according to a spot check The Star conducted on Kenyan graduates.

The research comes while experts earlier in the week convened at the Future of Work Summit in Nairobi to discuss challenges in employment and the way forward.

From the summit, the following emerged:

• Existing jobs require reskilling and upskilling to remain relevant 

• Employers are looking for workers offering diverse skills

• Employees should have cross-cutting and transversal skills

• Soft skills are necessary for future of work

• Machines are continuously taking over human talent jobs with automation, robotics, algorithms and artificial intelligence at the forefront

• Remote work, ecommerce and online learning are crucial for future of work

• Currently, 2.4 million Kenyans are working online. Read More.

🏗️ Ruto’s Affordable Housing Faces New Hurdle

On Tuesday, President Ruto signed the Affordable Housing Bill. Kenyans will now be deducted the 1.5% housing levy. Employers will also need to match the 1.5% deduction.

The deductions will include all Kenyans employed and those working in the informal sector. The singling out of only salaried Kenyans is part of what led to the levy to be declared unconstitutional by the court last year on discrimination grounds. Read More.

💰 Meta to Start Paying Kenyan Content Creators

According to a recent announcement by the President William Ruto and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Kenyan content creators will be eligible to monetise their content starting in June this year.

But before one earns from Facebook, one has to meet the following eligibility criteria.

• Have more than 5,000 followers

• Be 18 years and older

• Have more than 5 active eligible videos on your page

• Have 60,000 minute views in the last 30 days. Read More.

⏳ 30% of Kenyans Have 1-month Savings Only

A survey conducted by digital lender,Tala, paints the picture of Kenyans struggling under tough economic conditions.

• 33% of Kenyans surveyed would exhaust their savings within a month of losing regular income.

• 13% of respondents would deplete their savings within a week

• 43% would last between a month and six months.

• 75% of Kenyans are optimistic about their financial situation improving in the next six months.

• 70% of respondents reported no improvement in their financial situation. Read More

Want more details? Check our full weekly update here:

MONEY TIPS & TOOLS

This week’s finance tips

Welcome to Money254's Money Tips! Here, we share quick and easy tips that make understanding and managing your money a breeze. We break down the tricky parts of your finances and the financial landscape, making it simple and clear for you. Stay tuned for helpful tips every week.

MONEY254 #MONEYTOK OF THE WEEK

Ksh100K Salary: Buy Car or Land First?

It’s a never-ending debate. Should you buy a car as your first asset or land if you are earning Ksh100,000 as your gross income in your first one to three years of your career? It’s today’s #MoneyTok, we explore two opposite perspectives on the opportunities and risks on both side. Plus, maybe it’s not about buying a car or land but investing elsewhere? Watch Video.

@money254hq

Would you rather Buy a Car First Or a Piece of Land? #personalfinance #money254 #buycarorinvest #buyorbuild #moneytok #cashchronicle... See more

That’s a wrap for this week’s Money Weekly!

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Eric and the Money254 editorial team.