Tag: debt collection

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) continues to face challenges in collecting receivables and addressing disputes with taxpayers. The SARS Annual Report for 2023/24 highlights intensified efforts in tax debt collection and dispute resolution. SARS is implementing new strategies and refining processes to tackle challenges in enforcing tax compliance.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has marginally improved refund payment time frames, but it needs to prioritise improving service delivery and building trust with taxpayers. In his recently delivered Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced a tax revenue shortfall of R22.3 billion.

With an economic growth forecast of only 1.6% over the next three years for South Africa, businesses are facing a tough trading environment, exacerbated by the impact of geopolitical tensions, disruptive new technologies, persistent weather catastrophe threats and failing public infrastructure and services.

South Africa narrowly escaped a technical recession, according to the latest figures released by Stats SA in early March. Recession or no recession, growth is just not high enough to improve economic conditions and coupled with record interest rates and increasing prices at the fuel pump and grocery store, South Africans are under pressure.

With the corporate tax collection deficit announced in September 2023, South African Revenue Service (SARS) is dead set on filling at least this fiscal pothole. How will they do this you may ask; well, amongst other avenues, SARS are exploiting the Tax Administration Act, which provides for instances in which the representative taxpayer, employer, or vendor, will be held personally liable for a company’s tax debt!

South Africa is currently experiencing challenging political and economic conditions, which has a direct impact on the financial and trading performance of businesses. Vulnerabilities to external shocks have also converged at the worst possible time in our post-pandemic economy, with the impact rapidly manifesting in financing becoming more difficult to secure, more expensive and dwindling foreign direct investment.

Consumer debt is increasing – with worrying effects for companies. Strike Date Optimisation may be the single most effective tool standing between a business that flourishes in a difficult economy, and one that’s left floundering with a growing debt book. Much has been said about the challenges facing South African consumers at present.

This year, Black Friday will fall on 26 November. As has been the trend for the last few years, many retailers have already started offering discounts on goods since the beginning of the month. Last year (2020), many South Africans took to social media to lament their dissatisfaction with what many termed 'Black Friday scams'.

In the wake of the pandemic, many face the reality of their meticulous credit records being negatively affected by the whirlwind of last year’s economic instability. Landlords and tenants alike have been affected due to income loss, leading to missed bond payments, downsizing and, unfortunate, if unavoidable evictions.

Despite a legal requirement that invoices and claims be paid within 30 days or within the period contractually agreed upon, a Public Service Commission (PSC) report has revealed that South African small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are owed billions in unpaid invoices by government departments.