Kenya plans to impose a 3% tax on the transfer of digital assets for the coming budget year, according to proposals for the 2023 finance bill presented to lawmakers on Thursday.
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Fast facts
- The plan will cover cryptocurrencies and non-fungible token transfers by exchanges and individuals. Monetized online content will also be subject to a 15% tax.
- The Kenyan Treasury classifies digital assets as property and any gains from their sale, exchange or disposal are subject to capital gains tax.
- National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u will present the budget statement to Parliament on June 8.
- Some 8.5% of Kenya’s population owns crypto, ranking the east African nation fifth globally behind Ukraine, Russia, Venezuela and Singapore, according to an August 2022 report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
- The proposal comes amid global regulatory scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry, with regulators increasingly concerned about the risks posed by unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges, such as fraud, money laundering, and market manipulation.
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