Success Factors in the Implementation of Tax Administration Projects in Kenya: A Case of Itax System

Abstract

Taxation is often the most important source of state revenue. However, many developing countries lack effective tax administration structures and processes. Electronic tax system –i Tax, was introduced by Kenya Revenue Authority to increase financial collection, administration, avail services to the tax payers all the time from anywhere, reduce costs of compliance and improve tax compliance. However, technological innovations have not filtered through to the daily working reality of tax officials. Tax compliance levels remain low and tax collections are below the targets set by Kenya Revenue Authority. There was hence a need to examine the success factors that is top management commitment, project schedule, user acceptance and project monitoring on the implementation of tax administration projects in Kenya. The study variables is founded on the basis of the results theory, theory of constraints, technology acceptance model, the theory of planned behavior and the theory of change. The target population consisted of 258 staff currently employed at Kenya Revenue Authority headquarters at Times Towers, Nairobi City County. Multi-stage sampling was used to determine the sample size of 155 respondents. The study findings revealed that all the investigated factors positively and significantly influenced implementation of tax projects at KRA. The study recommends that for Kenya Revenue Authority to improve the success rate of tax administration project, there is a need for enhanced top management support, better project scheduling practices, increased awareness to create user acceptance and enhanced project monitoring.

Keywords: Top Management Commitment, User Acceptance, Project Monitoring, Project Schedule, iTax