Effect of Economic Factors on Tax Compliance in Kenya: A Survey of Limited Liability Companies within Eldoret Municipality

Abstract

The problem of tax compliance is as old as taxes themselves. Characterizing and explaining the observed patterns of tax noncompliance and ultimately finding ways to reduce it are of obvious importance to nations around the world. As a public finance topic, tax compliance spans the notions of equity, efficiency and incidence. Low tax compliance is one of the internal factors affecting the ability of the Kenyan government to raise direct tax revenues and thus meet its recurrent and development expenditure. Therefore, this study assessed the economic factors affecting tax compliance among various limited liability companies within the municipality of Eldoret. The general objective of the study was to assess the economic factors affecting tax compliance among various limited Liability Companies within Eldoret Municipality. The study specifically sought to determine the effect of tax rates, tax audits, and level of actual income, fines and penalties on tax compliance. The study adopted survey design. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 320 companies drawn from the target population of 1,470 limited companies. Data was collected using structured questionnaire, coded, keyed and analyzed quantitatively using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The study findings showed that tax audits had the highest positive effect on level of tax compliance followed by tax rate, fines and penalties. Tax incentives and level of actual income had the least positive effect on tax compliance .Based on these findings, the study concludes that reducing tax rate, ensuring Kenya Revenue Authority tax auditors to educate taxpayers; enforcing fines and penalties, provision of tax incentives and considering the level of actual income of the taxpayers will improve tax compliance. The study recommends that Kenya Revenue Authority management can improve the level of tax compliance by ensuring favorable and fair tax rates. Tax audits findings should be made available to the taxpayers, while fines and penalties need to be enforced effectively. The authority should also improve tax incentives and consider level of income of the taxpayers in its policy formulation. All these can be achieved through an elaborate taxpayer’s education.

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