IMPACT OF STRATEGIC CHANGE: INTRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC TAX REGISTER FOR ENHANCEMENT OF TAX COLLECTION AT KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY

Jane Muthoni Weru

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Mary Wanjira Kamaara

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Alice Njeri Weru

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

ABSTRACT

The Kenya Revenue Authority was until 2005 using tax collection methods that were prone to falsification and did not have a fiscal memory which could record and store tax information. The Authority therefore introduced the use of Electronic Tax Register (ETR) which was more advanced than the ordinary Electronic Cash Register (ECR) used at that time. The Authority therefore embarked on two year project that required implementing change at all levels starting from the KRA Management, cascading to the staff and trickle it down to the customers/ users of the ETR machine.  In order to manage the change and ensure effectiveness and efficiency of the project KRA had to adopt certain change models, identify areas on resistance to change and also define ways of dealing with the change resistance both from internal and external customers.  The objective of the project was to tighten the grip on tax collection as KRA was losing a lot of revenue through falsification and other malpractices.  This study therefore was to establish the effect of the change caused by implementation of the ETR project and if the ETR system enhanced the tax collection in Nairobi.  The target population was 500 traders along Luthuli Avenue in Nairobi who were Value Added Tax (VAT) holders using the ETR machines and also Ninety eight (98) KRA managers in the Department of Domestic Taxes. The major findings indicated that ETR system had enhanced tax collection in business premises in Nairobi and that the system had to a great extent assisted in sealing loopholes of tax evasion in Nairobi. It was further found out that the stakeholders were yet to be trained effectively on the use of ETR machines. The system had also assisted in improvement on tax compliance. It was however established that the system is yet to be fully institutionalized in the KRA system. The study established that the Authority is still experiencing some resistance to change from both internal and external customers.

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