Can a third party collect my taxes?
In SIP Project Managers (Pty) Ltd v CSARS (29 April 2020), the Gauteng Division of the High Court ruled against SARS on the appointment of a third-party (Standard Bank, in this case) to collect tax debts from taxpayers’ accounts. The matter was an application for declaratory relief against SARS for such an appointment to be set aside […]
Changes to the dispute management process
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) recently introduced certain changes and improvements to its current dispute management process. Any taxpayer who is aggrieved by any assessment may request SARS to provide those reasons for the assessment sufficient to enable the taxpayer to formulate an objection. For the first time, taxpayers will be able to make […]
Transactions required to be reported to SARS in terms of the Tax Administration Act
Certain transactions are required to be reported to the South African Revenue Service (‘SARS’) as and when entered into (section 37 of the Tax Administration Act, 28 of 2011 (‘the Admin Act’)). These are referred to as ‘reportable arrangements’, and qualify as such when an ‘arrangement’ (defined as including any transaction, agreement, scheme or understanding) […]
Tax ombud: Recourse for aggrieved taxpayers
The Tax Administration Act that came into effect on 1 October 2012 is a valiant attempt to balance the rights of the taxman with those of the taxpayer. One of the ways of bolstering the taxpayer’s position on this not very level playing field is the creation of the office of the ombudsman or Tax […]