A tax of three per cent has been proposed by Kenya on the transfer or exchange value of a digital asset in its Finance Bill, 2023, as per a draft reviewed by MediaNama. The bill is yet to come into effect and will be presented on June 8 this year. The tax will be deducted by the platform or the person who “facilitates the exchange or transfer” and remitted to the Kenyan government within 24 hours. The bill also mandates the registration of a person, even if they are not a citizen, who owns the platform on which digital assets are exchanged. Why it matters: It is a significant development when read in conjunction with the fact that Kenya has not cleared the air on whether digital assets are legal in the country. The country seems to have taken a leaf out of India’s playbook which introduced a tax regime for digital assets in 2022. The move can be seen as a vote of confidence towards India’s efforts to foster a global consensus on a regulatory approach towards crypto assets. Definition of a digital asset: The draft defines a digital asset as “anything of value that is not tangible and cryptocurrencies, token code, number held in digital form and generated through cryptographic means or otherwise, by whatever name called, providing a digital representation of value exchanged with or without consideration that can be transferred, stored or exchanged electronically and a non fungible token or any other token of similar nature,…
