Employment of Integrated Approaches and Growth of Revenue Collection in Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

Devolved governments through the whole of Africa are pressed by the need to deliver adequate and efficient services which call for increased revenue collection. Many counties in Kenya have not been meeting their yearly own source revenue collection targets, including Kakamega County. This paper particularly focused on corporate culture, revenue automation and taxpayer education as the key drivers of increasing revenue collection. Its objectives were: To examine the effect of corporate culture on revenue collection in Kakamega County, Kenya, to determine the effect of employment of technology on revenue collection in Kakamega County, Kenya, and to establish the effect of taxpayer education on revenue collection in Kakamega County, Kenya. The findings will be beneficial to both county and national governments by providing insights on how to maximize revenue collection at the county level. The study aimed at employing an integrated approach to upscaling revenue collection in Kakamega County by examining corporate culture, revenue collection automation and taxpayer education. The study concentrated on the Finance Department of the County Government of Kakamega. The study was hinged on the Optimal Tax Theory by Ramsey et al. (1928), the Agency Theory by Jensen and Meckling (1976), the Technology Readiness Theory by Pastorman and Colby (2001) and the Technology Acceptance Model by Davis (1989). The descriptive case study design was applied in this study which seeks to have 210 respondents from 442 senior and middle level employees in the Finance Department within the Kakamega County Government. Primary and secondary data was employed, with questionnaires being the main tool for data collection. Construct and content validity were assured by ensuring that the questionnaire captures, in its sections, all objectives; and by subjecting the questionnaire to thorough examination by the supervisors respectively. Collected data was analyzed by means of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The inquiry found that that the effect of corporate culture on revenue collection is negative and statistically insignificant, whereas employment of technology on revenue collection and taxpayer education on revenue collection in the county are positive and statistically significant. The regression model was statistically significant in making conclusive judgment on the relationship between integrated approaches and revenue collection in Kakamega County. The study completed its inquiry by confirming that employment of technology has a positive and significant effect on revenue collection in Kakamega County, Kenya. It also concluded that employment of technology has a positive and significant effect on revenue collection in Kakamega County, Kenya.