President William Ruto has announced plans to introduce taxes for content creators benefiting from the monetization scheme he helped secure in April 2024.
Speaking at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance’s 20th Anniversary celebration in Nairobi, the president explained that the deal allows Kenyan content creators to monetize their work, enabling them to earn substantial amounts in the digital space.
President Ruto emphasized that taxing these creators would create a fair environment for all taxpayers.
“I negotiated with TikTok and Facebook, making Kenya one of only four countries where creators can monetize their accounts,” he noted.
He further added, “Some creators are now earning up to Ksh.1 million. If someone earning Ksh.20,000 or Ksh.30,000 pays tax, isn’t it only fair for those earning Ksh.1 million to contribute as well, especially given the opportunities we’ve helped create? That makes sense, at least to me.”
The government has already started moving toward taxing the digital space through the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to include digital operators in the tax system. After public consultations, the bill will soon be presented for a Second Reading in Parliament.
In April, resident Ruto revealed that the government had signed agreements with Google, META, and TikTok to enable Kenyan creators to monetize their content.
“Our highly talented youth are capable of creative excellence in fields such as music, theatre, graphic design, fashion, and emerging areas like virtual and augmented reality,” he said.
However, Ruto’s statement that Kenya is one of only four countries monetizing creators’ content contradicts Google’s monetization policy, which includes 12 African countries as part of YouTube’s monetized markets, such as Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, and Libya.
For Meta, the monetization options for content creators have evolved. Initially, only brands and sponsored campaigns were supported, but now more opportunities are available, including payments for Reels content.