{"id":3059,"date":"2026-05-29T14:17:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=3059"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T14:17:47","slug":"crypto-tax-laws-face-constitutional-test-as-stakeholder-pushes-parliament-for-stronger-privacy-safeguards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=3059","title":{"rendered":"Crypto Tax Laws Face Constitutional Test as Stakeholder Pushes Parliament for Stronger Privacy Safeguards"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jeff Kizzilah \/Digital Editor\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A stakeholder has urged Parliament\u2019s Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning to amend the proposed tax laws governing digital assets to ensure Kenya\u2019s adoption of global crypto tax transparency standards fully complies with the Constitution and existing data protection laws.<\/p>\n

Speaking during submissions on the Finance Bill, 2026, Mr. Mabuti Mutua of Lex Chain Consulting Limited called for critical amendments to Clause 38 of the Bill, which seeks to introduce the OECD\u2019s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) into Kenya\u2019s Tax Procedures Act.<\/p>\n

While supporting Kenya\u2019s commitment to international tax cooperation and transparency, Mr. Mutua warned that the current provisions could permit the collection and sharing of massive amounts of sensitive financial information without sufficient constitutional safeguards.<\/p>\n

The Finance Bill, 2026 proposes the introduction of Sections 6C and 6D into the Tax Procedures Act, requiring Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to file annual information returns on cryptocurrency users with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).<\/p>\n

The Bill also empowers Kenya to enter into automatic information-sharing agreements with foreign jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

However, stakeholders argued that the proposed law must explicitly align with Articles 24 and 31 of the Constitution of Kenya as well as the Data Protection Act to prevent abuse and unlawful intrusion into citizens\u2019 privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy expressly limiting reporting to information that is necessary, relevant, and proportionate, the amendment gives effect to the data minimisation and purpose limitation principles,\u201d Mr. Mutua stated during his presentation before the Committee.<\/p>\n

He emphasized the need for the framework to prevent indiscriminate collection and disclosure of information held by virtual asset service providers.
\nThe proposed amendments would compel crypto platforms and trading intermediaries to establish strong technical and organizational safeguards aimed at protecting taxpayer information.<\/p>\n

If adopted, the proposals would require VASPs to enforce strict data security measures, enhance transparency, and limit access to sensitive information strictly to authorized officers performing official duties.<\/p>\n

Under the proposed enforcement framework, VASPs would also be required to implement mandatory encryption systems, strict access controls, and comprehensive audit trails to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction of taxpayer data.<\/p>\n

To improve transparency, stakeholders further proposed that VASPs be legally required to notify users about the categories of information being collected, the purpose of the collection, and the intended disclosure to the KRA Commissioner.<\/p>\n

\nConcerns were also raised over Clause 38(6D), which governs the cross-border transfer of sensitive personal and financial information.<\/strong>
\nStakeholders recommended that KRA should be prohibited from sharing information with foreign jurisdictions unless it is fully satisfied that the receiving country has legal, technical, and organizational safeguards equivalent to Kenya\u2019s data protection<\/strong> standards.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Additionally, the proposed amendments seek to strengthen accountability by requiring KRA to maintain detailed audit logs for all international disclosures. The records would capture the recipient country, date of disclosure, legal basis for sharing the information, and the categories of data disclosed.<\/p>\n

\nThe submissions now place Parliament at the center of a growing debate on balancing tax transparency, international cooperation, and the constitutional right to privacy in Kenya\u2019s rapidly expanding digital asset economy.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jeff Kizzilah \/Digital Editor\u00a0 A stakeholder has urged Parliament\u2019s Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning to amend the proposed tax laws governing digital… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-updates","category-technology-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3059"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3061,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3059\/revisions\/3061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}