Withholding tax is an advance tax against which you get a credit to be deducted from your total tax for the year on taxable income received.

“In the example for the examiners, Knec would have deducted 5 per cent from the Sh30,000 amounting to Sh1,500. If the examiner did not have any other income for the past year they would be required to pay a further Sh7,500 on or before April 30,” Ajmera said.

“However, the same the examiners would also be allowed to deduct expenses which were incurred in generating that income. This would include but not limited to transport, stationery etc,” he said.

If the same examiner paid expenses for transport and stationery amounting to Sh10,000 then his taxable income would be Sh20,000.

Tax at 30 per cent would then be Sh6,000 leaving the examiner with a debt of Sh4, 500 when you consider the Sh1,500 withholding tax credit already with the taxman Teachers say that this is a new charge since they always get paid the same amount after Knec deducts taxes.

“The pay usually delays up to the end of first time, this time they paid early through M-Pesa when we were leaving, so are we being penalized for getting the money early,” the source said.

To add to the confusion, the teachers’ union noted that the teacher’s pay for marking exams should have initially been taxed as an income. Kenya union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet) secretary general Akelo Misori said there may have been an oversight by Knec, which should have deducted all necessary taxes and remit to KRA.

He noted there has never been an instance where KRA has come asking teachers to pay additional taxes.“For all income, taxable amount should be 30 per cent unless it is VAT,” he said.

“KRA should consider temporary waiver and demand the taxes in the next schedule of marking. It is a shocker for the teachers and also not procedural to be charged taxes in such a manner. We will write to KNEC asking them to stick to tax laws and also to KRA to ask them to consider putting it on the next exam marking cycle,” said Misori.

Withholding tax is an advance tax against which you get a credit to be deducted from your total tax for the year on taxable income received.

“In the example for the examiners, Knec would have deducted 5 per cent from the Sh30,000 amounting to Sh1,500. If the examiner did not have any other income for the past year they would be required to pay a further Sh7,500 on or before April 30,” Ajmera said.

“However, the same the examiners would also be allowed to deduct expenses which were incurred in generating that income. This would include but not limited to transport, stationery etc,” he said.

If the same examiner paid expenses for transport and stationery amounting to Sh10,000 then his taxable income would be Sh20,000.

Tax at 30 per cent would then be Sh6,000 leaving the examiner with a debt of Sh4, 500 when you consider the Sh1,500 withholding tax credit already with the taxman Teachers say that this is a new charge since they always get paid the same amount after Knec deducts taxes.

“The pay usually delays up to the end of first time, this time they paid early through M-Pesa when we were leaving, so are we being penalized for getting the money early,” the source said.

To add to the confusion, the teachers’ union noted that the teacher’s pay for marking exams should have initially been taxed as an income. Kenya union of Post Primary Teachers (Kuppet) secretary general Akelo Misori said there may have been an oversight by Knec, which should have deducted all necessary taxes and remit to KRA.

He noted there has never been an instance where KRA has come asking teachers to pay additional taxes.“For all income, taxable amount should be 30 per cent unless it is VAT,” he said.

“KRA should consider temporary waiver and demand the taxes in the next schedule of marking. It is a shocker for the teachers and also not procedural to be charged taxes in such a manner. We will write to KNEC asking them to stick to tax laws and also to KRA to ask them to consider putting it on the next exam marking cycle,” said Misori.