Abstract

This study was set out to establish the influence of deterrent factors on value added tax compliance in Kisumu County, Kenya. The specific objectives revolved around tax audits; tax rate and compliance checks and how they influence value added tax compliance in Kisumu County, Kenya. The economic deterrence theory and the Fiscal and Social Psychology Theory provided anchorage to the study. Descriptive approach was adopted targeting 430 businesses in Kisumu town. Stratified random sampling was used to select 129 respondents from these firms. Questionnaire was used to gather primary data that was analyzed through descriptive (means and standard deviations) and inferential statistics (correlation and multiple regression analysis). Tables and figures were used to present the analyzed findings. It was established that compliance checks have the greatest significant contribution towards VAT compliance (β=0.058 & p<0.05) followed by tax rate (β= -0.056 & p<0.05) and lastly tax audits (β=0.043 & p<0.05). The study concludes that deterrent factors have significant influence on VAT. The study recommends that senior tax auditors at KRA should increase the audit rate and the probability of audit detection to drive VAT compliance among tax payers.  The management team at KRA should consider other innovative strategies like expansion of the tax base so that more prospective and potential taxpayers are brought in.