The Kenyan Treasury has said it will start levying taxes on revenues earned by cryptocurrency exchanges used by an estimated 4 million local residents. According to a report by Business Daily Africa, Kenyan authorities will rely on the 1.5% digital tax service that became effective on Jan.1, 2021.

Initially proposed in 2020, the digital tax is the Kenyan government’s attempt to extract revenue from leading crypto exchanges and tax-avoiding digital asset platforms. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in early January 2021, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said it expected to get $45.5 million (5 billion Kenyan shillings) from the tax.

Meanwhile, as shown in the 2023 regulations’ value added tax (electronic, internet and digital marketplace supply) published by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u, Kenya can now target global crypto exchanges.