Ruto to Now Require 5% Tax from Digital Content Creators

The Kenyan government has reduced the proposed tax on digital content creators from 15% to 5%. The decision was made after President William Ruto ordered a review of the Finance Bill 2023, which had proposed a higher tax rate.

“I know when I say monetizing the tax man is also listening whenever they see some people making money in some corner they arrive. I know there is a proposal in this year’s budget and digital content creators are making a statement I have told the ICT committee and the finance committee to work on it. Let us give them a bit more space to arrange themselves, but in the end won’t we all pay tax? But we have heard you and we are going to work together to make sure that that does not work against what you want to do,” President Ruto had said.

The new tax rate will apply to income earned from all forms of digital content monetization, including advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. The reduced tax rate is still not expected to be a relief to digital content creators, who had protested the original proposal, saying it was unfair and would amount to double taxation.

According to Techtrends KE this recommendation has been included in a report by the Finance Committee of the National Assembly and adopted by members of the Departmental Committee on Finance and Planning. The Finance Bill 2023 is set to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow. It is still possible that the tax rate could be further reduced or even scrapped altogether. However, the 5% tax rate is a positive development for digital content creators in Kenya.

About Digital Content Monetization

Digital content monetization is the process of generating revenue from digital content. This can be done through a variety of channels, including advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing.

Advertising is the most common form of digital content monetization. Advertisers pay content creators to place their ads on their websites, social media pages, or videos. Sponsorship is another common form of digital content monetization. Brands pay content creators to promote their products or services on their platforms. Affiliate marketing is a type of marketing where content creators earn a commission for every sale they generate for a particular product or service.

Impact of the Tax Reduction

The reduction in the digital content creators tax is still an introduction of the tax and is expected to have a negative impact on the Kenyan creator economy. It will discourage more people from creating digital content, which many have turned to after lacking formal employment.


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