The government has introduced a tax for all Airbnb hosts. The Tourism Fund CEO said the Government is planning to register and tax all hosts listed on the Airbnb platform by July. The tax will be 5% of the total stay of each individual Homes will be licensed by Tourism Regulatory Authority (TRA).
Here is a quick breakdown.
If you own an Airbnb/Homestay Government wants your money too;
You'll be paying:
1K Registration
26K per house/unit owned annually
NEMA license
Single business permit
Home insurance
1% DST
2% catering levy
16% VAT & 30% corporate tax because you must be a LTD #SokoNews pic.twitter.com/JzFuzAF0Rh— SokoAnalyst (@SokoAnalyst) April 2, 2021
As a result, it’s not surprising that Airbnb is currently trending on Twitter, and with a number of Kenyans complaining about the new tax implications. In 2017 alone, Airbnb hosts were able to accumulate up to 390 million in 2017. In 2018 the amount rose to 510 million in the span of 9 months. For some, this is a primary source of income while others may depend on the platform to pay their rent.
So the government is going for Airbnb folks??♂️??♂️??♂️
1K Registration
26K per house/unit owned annually
NEMA license
Single business permit
Home insurance
1% DST
2% catering levy
16% VAT
And 30% Corporate Tax.Earth is hard. Correction, Kenya is hard!
— Sam Nato #StaySafeOnline ? (@SamNato) April 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/SafinaSacho/status/1377924565372919808
This Government is just trash…Na tukiendelea ivi tutaumia….sai you want to also tax Airbnb….side hustle ya home owners…and the worst is now mnafungia ARV?? Alaar!!!…
Punda Imechoka!!!!
— Cantona (@cantona_amaj) April 2, 2021
Govt is trying to save hotels by killing AirBnB. Watu wako na AirBnB watalipa Tourism Regulatory Authority an application fee of Sh1k & annual license of Sh26k. Remember, kuna digital tax. Also, VAT & other taxes will now apply. Govt is forcing them to close
Source: @SokoAnalyst
— Nahashon Kimemia (@NahashonKimemia) April 2, 2021