Kenya: Corporate sponsorship expenses not deductible, but tax authority’s allocation of expenses to exempt income disallowed (Tax Appeals Tribunal decision)
Taxpayer did not provide sufficient evidence linking disputed expenses to a commercial purpose.
September 23, 2026
The Tax Appeals Tribunal on July 13, 2026, held in African Banking Corporation Limited v. Commissioner that although corporate sponsorships may, in principle, qualify as deductible marketing and advertising expenses, the taxpayer did not provide sufficient evidence linking the disputed expenses to a commercial purpose and identifiable marketing deliverables.
However, the tribunal also held that the tax authority’s apportionment of interest and operating expenses to exempt infrastructure bond income was speculative and without factual foundation.
Read a September 2026 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Kenya