Centum school, one of the leading international schools in Kenya has won a Ksh.3.1 billion tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over the construction of the school in Kiambu county.
Kenya revenue authority claimed that centum school was not entitled to the 150 percent deduction on capital investment they had applied for, claiming that the school wanted to enjoy tax incentives set out for manufacturers and should have enrolled for a 50 percent tax deduction.
Tax appeal tribunal ruled that Africa Crest Education Holdings (ACE) qualified for the 150 percent tax accorded since the treasury was not clear if educational buildings were exempt from the incentives.
“Though the intention of Treasury as indicated in the budget speech that introduced that amendment was to restrict the investment deduction to the construction of factories, the same was not reflected in the wording of the section which merely states a building,” the tax appeals tribunal led by Eric Wafula said.
The school is partly owned by Centum Investments, Investbridge Capital, and SABIS with their win coming as the government aims to do away with tax subsidies.
According to a Business Daily report, Centum identified the site for its first school in Kenya where it built the SABIS International School with the capacity to accommodate up to 2,000 students with an aim to expand throughout Africa.
