Tag: tax evasion

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has introduced new obligations for reporting beneficial ownership information. The deadlines are tied to each company’s date of inception. Businesses must declare their beneficial owners within 30 days of their anniversary date, similar to annual return filings.

The Supreme Court of Appeal has backed Commissioner Kieswetter and issued a stern warning to all South Africans to refrain from assisting others in evading their tax obligations. Where you are caught, South African Revenue Service (SARS) will go after your personally. This is now settled law in South Africa and directors or companies, tax advisors, lawyers, accountants, or even payroll professionals can find themselves on the hook.

Despite being viewed as an administrative and burdensome expense with excessive paperwork sometimes causing potential delays to establishing business relationships and concluding transactions, Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) compliance is more crucial than ever.

Twenty-one African countries have already enacted rules for non-resident suppliers to account for Value-Added Tax (VAT) / Goods and Sales Tax on electronically supplied services. The digital economy is more than just technology and the internet.

On 31 July 2023, National Treasury released their annual draft tax law amendments, for public comment. Although still at the draft stage, there are some pertinent proposed changes for which the supporting systems have already been implemented i.e., the “Beneficial Ownership Registers”.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) recently announced their intention to declare cryptocurrency as a financial product, which is in line with current worldwide trends as well as the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) which published a draft declaration of crypto assets as financial products in 2020.

Instilling trust in taxpayers is vital to increasing tax collection. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has announced that the 2022 tax season will open in July; a condensed filing season compared to 2021, which was extended due to the long-tail impact of the pandemic.

When it comes to non-compliance, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) takes no prisoners, and has the full backing of the presidency, in its drive to stop tax evasion and other fraudulent activities related to the fiscus, with President Cyril Ramaphosa praising the revenue authority’s efforts in tackling tax dodgers and those benefitting from criminal proceeds.

The question of 'Selective Prosecution' has been asked since 2007 when the South African Revenue Service (SARS) started using lifestyle audits on private individuals. The selection basis, was the means of the individual, in contrast to their standard of living, and was conducted on individuals where there was a suspicion of criminal activity.

As the SARS collection process becomes more technologically advanced, tax practitioners must advise clients to avoid tax evasion and remain compliant. SARS will soon become so efficient at detecting tax evasion and recovering hidden revenues, it will no longer be worth it to lie on returns.