Is Litigating Against SARS Always The Correct First Option?
Factual Background Barnard Labuschagne Incorporated (“BLI”), a firm of attorneys, filed returns (and therefore self-assessments) in respect of its tax liability for VAT and employees’ tax. BLI regarded the tax liability amounts set out in these self-assessments as correct and therefore contended that it had subsequently made payment of this tax liability to SARS.
SARS’ Call To Action: The NPA The Last Piece Of The Puzzle
The proverb still rings true – you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. In this case, despite the South African Revenue Service’s (“SARS”) referral of criminal taxpayers to the National Prosecution Authority (“NPA”) as well as the Zondo Commission’s damning findings levied against various high-profile persons, it appears that […]
SARS Is Sharpening Their Tools To Improve Detection Of Crypto Tax Non-Compliance
In what is increasingly being considered a watershed year for the evolution of cryptocurrency regulation in South Africa, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is quietly but meticulously accreting the details of South Africans invested in crypto assets with a view to dropping the hammer on tax non-compliance.
The Good, the Bad, and the Negligent: SARS’ Compliance Crackdown
There is developing trend where tax practitioners and taxpayers alike cry “fear-mongering” where media releases caution against non-compliance, despite numerous statements by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) noting a zero-tolerance approach to any form of, wilful or negligent, non-compliance.
Government Is Putting Crypto Under The Magnifying Glass
Cryptocurrency has been gaining momentum in South Africa and the South African government has made it clear, in the 2022 Budget Speech, that they are taking it very seriously.