With the exponential growth of global platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, the number of digital content creators in Africa has significantly surged in recent years. Governments want to capitalize on this trend to boost their revenues.

Kenya will now collect taxes from content creators. President William Ruto (photo) has approved proposed amendments to the Finance Act, 2023, concerning taxes and levies from digital creators.  

Under the Act, payments made by taxpayers to content creators will now be subject to a 15% withholding tax. The tax is specifically applied to goods and services sold to content creators’ audiences.  The text also proposes a tax on creators' paid content subscriptions and revenues generated on free content.

Last May, the law was amended and submitted to the government for approval, which was quick to respond positively, creating a sense of frustration among the country's young content creators. In their view, the proposed tax is too high for a growing digital economy, given that they receive minimal state support for content creation. On the government side, the new tax aims to diversify revenue sources, tackle poverty, and grow the digital economy.

It is one of the numerous taxes introduced in the 2023 Finance Act. Some of them broaden the tax base to include the digital space. They are expected to generate up to $2 billion in additional revenue for the Kenyan government. 

Samira Njoya