Taking on or being chased by KRA can be incredibly stressful. Growth-minded businesses need to consider their tax strategies continuously, not only at tax time. Our relationship with tax authorities in Kenya is based on mutual respect. We regularly succeed in settling complex disputes, even in situations where a compromise already seemed out of reach.
Depending on your requirements and your business set-up, our lawyers can offer advice on a range of potential issues, including tax effective approaches to property ownership, incentivising employees, mitigating tax, the tax implications of selling or merging and strategies for extracting funds from a business – and much more besides.
We specialise in helping entrepreneurs, private investors, high net worth individuals and families to achieve their long-term financial objectives and plan for a secure, comfortable future. Our experts will work directly with your other advisors and our colleagues to offer you a comprehensive, seamless service and put together a clear plan to protect your wealth for future generations.
Everyone’s personal situation is different, and so are their taxes. We offer a totally bespoke service that’s engineered for your unique needs and requirements, from completing a tax return to project managing a complex wealth structuring operation.
Our expert advice includes:
VAT and indirect taxes are transaction-driven and complex and can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Complying with the wide range of indirect taxes often requires quick thinking and immediate action.
Our specialist tax lawyers have experience across the full range of indirect tax services, including VAT, customs duties, and stamp duty taxes. With careful planning, we are able to avoid potential pitfalls and reduce the indirect tax risks for a variety of businesses and transactions.
We have broad experience in virtually all types of excise and transaction taxes, including: hospitality, alcohol excise taxes, environmental taxes, fuel taxes, communications and air transportation taxes, heavy vehicle retail taxes, manufacturers taxes, taxes on specified health insurance policies and applicable self-insured health plans.
Our tax team advises company finance directors, entrepreneurs and other professionals on the tax implications of their business and transactions.
From working with many businesses and individuals, we understand the tax complexities which can arise for you personally and for your business. Our team of specialist tax lawyers and chartered tax advisers will work closely with you to provide bespoke tax advice and pragmatic legal solutions in a clear and concise manner.
We’re leaders in our field. We’re constantly focused on value, not time. We’re creative thinkers and experienced problem solvers. We keep an eagle eye on new legislation, and other developments in the tax field, and we see it as a fundamental part of our role to ensure that we share this knowledge with our clients. We’re integrated, efficient and pro-active in our approach.
Common issues we solve for our clients:
Hassan Luk's highly experienced tax team has a long-standing reputation for providing quality legal and tax advice on all aspects of payroll tax and share incentive arrangements.
If you need to develop complex local and expatriate employees; or understand how social security regimes affect businesses and individuals across the region - we’re here to help.
It is equally important to ensure your business’ key stakeholders and its people interact well and are aligned, as this can play a leading role in your business’ growth trajectory. That is why properly drafted incentives are vital, to support business strategy as well as to keep key management aligned with the corporate journey.
Hassan Luk's lawyers understand what your people need to feel valued at work, and our specialist teams have worked with leading organisations to build stock and cash remuneration plans and all-employee share plans. We provide pragmatic high-quality advice tailored to each client’s needs and circumstances and combine excellent technical skills with a personable and user-friendly approach.
Common issues we solve for our clients:
Our lawyers advise regularly on the direct and indirect tax treatment of real estate transactions for buyers, investors, sellers, landlords and occupiers of commercial and residential property.
When you need advice on Real Estate taxes, you need to rely on experts who can think commercially. We advise on a wide range of real estate tax issues, and offer exceptionally high levels of service to get you the guidance that will make a difference.
This includes areas such as Stamp Duty Tax, where the rules change frequently and have become increasingly complex. It is important to check if any particular acquisition will qualify for reduced stamp duty rates. We also cover VAT on both commercial and residential property.
Our experience in banking and finance transactions enables us to advise on how lenders and borrowers are affected by real estate tax. In addition to the usual domestic issues, we have experience of cross border matters, such as withholding tax on paying interest to a person outside Kenya and how to avoid a withholding pursuant to a double tax treaty.
Common issues we solve for our clients:
Who have our lawyers worked with?
There are many opportunities for business regionally but there are also many challenges, including cross border import and export rules and customs procedures and customs laws. Duties and taxes are levied on any imported and exported goods before releasing them from Customs.
We are also able to leverage a regional network spanning across Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan to provide seamless assistance with cross-border matters relating to customs and excise disputes.
As part of our service we shall take the time to understand your goals and objectives to enable us to provide you with focused, cost efficient customs advice and representation.
Common issues we solve for our clients:
Our specialists provide assistance to resolve your tax liabilities, delinquent tax problems, and disputes with KRA.
No matter the issue at hand, our goal will always be to reach resolution as soon as possible, not least due to the reputational impact and cost saving of avoiding litigation.
VAT disputes
VAT disputes including single/multiple supplies, scope of exemptions, and zero-rating. If you are in receipt of an assessments, or have been issued with any penalties, we will help identify the correct steps in order to challenge KRA where necessary.
Residence & domicile enquiries
We act for clients at different procedural stages, and have the expertise in providing practical and strategically advice.
Other tax disputes
Other tax disputes including income tax and NICs, Corporation tax, Capital Gains Tax, image rights disputes for sportspersons, customs and excise duty appeals, all areas of direct and indirect tax litigation, disclosures and judicial reviews.
Fraud and criminal investigations
Working alongside our top ranked criminal litigation team, we can proactively anticipate issues and put our client in the best possible position. We have experience acting for clients subject to enquiry, allegations of tax avoidance and tax evasion, as well as other similar offences such as the corporate offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion.
Tax evasion and avoidance
KRA’s aggressive anti-avoidance policies mean that investigations require specialist help to resolve. If you have been implicated in a tax evasion or tax avoidance scheme, it is crucial that you seek expert legal advice from a tax fraud lawyer immediately upon becoming aware of the allegations against you or your company. Contact our tax lawyers to see how we can help.
Whatever your situation, we can help with your tax planning, when necessary consulting with leading colleagues in areas such as trusts, wealth planning, immigration and employment. Looking to the future, our tax lawyers also stay on top of legislative developments, advising on the implications of major election results and keeping you ahead of tax law changes in different countries in East Africa.
Tax planning is a critical element of running a business, right from start-up to exit. Only by looking at the business as a whole can you ensure that all of the elements are working in harmony and that you are paying all of the taxes due – as efficiently as possible.
Our team will take a forensic look at your business’ structure and operations in order to build a strategy for its lifestyle, right up to the day you exit.
Tax indemnities (or the “tax covenants”) and warranties are a common part of share purchase agreements. They ensure a buyer of a business does not lose out if it later transpires the seller hasn’t paid enough tax. Tax warranties are given by the seller to confirm any tax liabilities, allowing the buyer to decide on next actions with all the information available.
Our highly skilled team have wide experience in drafting and negotiating tax indemnities and warranties on behalf of both sellers and buyers. It is a service we offer to other professionals including accountants and other law firms without a dedicated tax team.
Mitigation of tax is neither tax avoidance or evasion. It is, rather, a way of ensuring that your tax affairs are properly structured so that you don’t pay any more tax than you should.
There are a myriad of ways to mitigate your tax in order to legitimately reduce your bill. On the most basic level, this can include the use of financial schemes including pensions, bad debts write-offs, and Capital Gains Tax allowances – but, depending on your circumstances, our team are likely to be able to utilise other strategies.
Need to file for a C-corp, nonprofit or LLC? Looking to reduce what you owe? This is your one-stop shop for hands-on tax preparation for businesses. You’ll get expertise to cover your bases and answer your toughest questions.
Improve transparency and accuracy in your financial processes with internal audit services. Illuminate control gaps before regulators do with an independent, objective review from an expert.
Our team has the required experience in negotiating and resolving tax matters with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), and the expertise to protect your business should the matter escalate to a tribunal or court. As well as a diverse group of legal specialists, we also have chartered tax advisers and accountants in our team. This means we can work seamlessly through every step of the tax planning process to keep your tax affairs as efficient and effective as possible.
Sometimes, our clients have a good idea of why they’re being investigated. This may be something as simple as continually filing late tax returns. Or perhaps you’ve deliberately underdeclared your sales figures (we’ll come to this later). However, more often than not, our clients have no idea why KRA has chosen to investigate their business or personal tax affairs. Here are some common reasons:
KRA’s methods used in identifying tax irregularities are more sophisticated that ever. Recently, KRA heavily publicised the launch of its brand-new electronic counter avoidance system – the ‘super computer’. The system pulls information from many different sources, such as Land Registry records and Companies Registrar data. It then cross references this information with internal data relating to an individual’s tax affairs. If the system finds an error, then it will flag the taxpayer for further investigation by a KRA Commissioner.
If KRA has already raised tax assessments, then these will need to be appealed immediately. There are many avenues of appeal that if unsuccessful will lead to the case being appealed at the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
Hassan Luk can handle the appeal process from start to finish. We’ll start by appealing the internally with KRA, via an ‘tax assessment objection’. Should this be unsuccessful, which is often the case, then we will start to build a case to be presented at Tax Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal Service is completely independent of KRA and will be unaware of any background to the case, other than the information presented at the hearing.
A majority of our successes in overturning KRA’s assessments are achieved at the Tribunal Stage.
It’s important that you are completely honest with yourself. If there have been any deliberate irregularities, then you need to seek the advice of a tax investigation specialist as soon as possible.
If you have no idea as to why KRA has instigated a tax investigation, or dispute their findings, then Hassan Luk can start building a case of appeal. There are many avenues of appeal to be explored, some of which rest outside of KRA itself. It’s important to get things moving as soon as possible. Once tax assessments are raised there is a very limited window of appeal.
If you’re looking for KRA Tax Investigation help you’ve come to the right place. Hassan Luk specialises in resolving serious, and often complex, tax problems. If you haven’t got time to read the information below or need more specific advice, then call us directly. We offer a free initial consultation, during which we can offer much more specific advice.
Strategic legal counsel across East Africa, delivering practical solutions for businesses, families and institutions.