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Precursor Executive Classroom

Lecture 48 Β· Bboxx lost the argument over its business model and still beat a KSh780 million bill.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 π‘ͺ𝒂𝒔𝒆 π‘Ήπ’π’π’Ž: KRA recharacterised Bboxx's solar leases as hire purchase and added KSh1.5 billion of income with a 30% mark-up. The tribunal agreed on the model but found the method arbitrary and double-counted, and set the KSh780 million assessment aside in full.

By The Precursor Editorial Team, Tax and financial judgement Β· 4 min read,
Lecture 48 Β· Bboxx lost the argument over its business model and still beat a KSh780 million bill.

Illustration: Precursor

Your company sells solar systems on instalments and accounts for them as leases, paying tax on the rentals. The tax office says the arrangement is really hire purchase, applies a mark-up to your stock in the field, and conjures a large block of under-declared income on top of the revenue you already reported.

Put yourself in the finance director's chair. If the authority is right about the model but wrong about the arithmetic, where does that leave the assessment?

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The Precursor Editorial Team

Precursor is published by the FinTech Association of Kenya and exercises independent editorial judgement under the Editorial Independence Charter. This article is labelled Precursor Executive Classroom, which marks commercial material. Knowledge on Tax and financial judgement.

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Lecture 126 Β· A director kept meeting the taxman instead of appealing, and four years on the bill had only grown.

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