"In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin

Taxation in Kenya started way before the colonial period. It was first introduced by the Arabs who arrived in the Kenyan coast around 1498. They came to facilitate trade between the hinterland and the other Arab traders who mainly came from the Sultanate of Oman. The Sultanate of Oman thus occupied and added the coastline of East Africa into their Governate,  based in Malindi, and allowed each of the islands to run their own affairs and collect taxes for the Sultan.

Taxpayers were divided into two separate tax bases:-

1. The citizenry within each Sultanate and the traders: Consisted of a mixture of Arabs, families that resulted from intermarriage and local Africans who had converted to Islam.
2. Traders from other nations: Were as diverse as India, Europe and Mauritius. These tax bases were treated in an identical manner as there were fixed rates without exception for all subjects of taxation.

The Sultanate applied a system of taxation that was a mixture of Islamic Law as well taxation of trade.  As a result, the citizenry were taxed using the Islamic law based taxes which were, zakat, jizya, sadaqa and khums in addition to customs levy, capitation tax as well as harbour fees.

• Zakat is a form of voluntary single capital tax levied only on Muslims that can never be less than 2.5% on all savings and all cash assets idle for the year. It is used specifically to finance among other things, poor relief, and emancipation of slavery, assistance to individuals serving Islam. Despite its voluntary nature, it is considered taboo not to give this tax if one has savings and interestingly in considered a pillar of Islam as a religion.
• Sadaqa is another form of voluntary tax. It is also given for charitable purposes and is under no control whatsoever, and is a source reliant on the charitable feelings of the Muslim giving it.
• Jizya was a tax imposed on conquered non-Muslims in a Muslim nation under treaties signed between the two communities as a payment in lieu of compulsory military service. It was because compulsory military could only be imposed on Muslims as conquest was seen as a religious war.18 There are however, no reports of this tax being applied on Kenya’s coastline.
• Khums was a tax on assets redeemed by force and was a share of the spoils or war booty. It was considered a state asset at the disposal of the leader or war booty of the commander in chief for his personal disposal.

Traders were taxed by the application of a capitation tax, as well as customs. A capitation is a head tax, tax on each individual. Capitation tax was levied on each slave, on traders taking slaves out of the sultanate. This tax was first applied in 1722 by the then ruler of Oman on every slave exported by the French from his African dominions.

Between 1809 and 1814, it is reported that the Sultan derived 75,000 dollars worth of revenue from this tax. By 1820, it is reported that this revenue increased to between 40,000 and 50,000 dollars per annum. The personal taxes were voluntary in nature and thus were not run by and taxation administration.

Next Article Kenya's Tax History (II), will begin from the time the Portuguese and the British arrived in the country through the colonial period.

Reference & Source: Kenya Law Review

 Taxation without Principles: A Historical Analysis of the Kenyan Taxation System (Attiya Waris)