CAPE TOWN - Embracing electronic filing technology has paid off for tax authorities in South Africa with faster processing times, higher compliance, and greater number of tax filers. On November 30th the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released a statement with final outcomes of the 2011 tax season, reporting that a greater number of tax returns were processed than in any previous year. According to the statement, 4.86 million individual tax returns were received during the tax filing season between July 1st ... Read More

PRETORIA - Talks of a new wealth taxes have been growing in South Africa, but local tax experts are now vehemently standing up and arguing against the idea. Throughout last week debates have arisen in South Africa over the potential to instate a new tax on the country’s wealthiest citizens. The issue of wealth taxes arose after US president Barack Obama suggested that such a measure should be instated in the USA. However, tax experts in South Africa are arguing that their ... Read More

PRETORIA - South Africans are submitting their annual tax returns in droves, with record numbers of taxpayers having filed their annual obligations so far this year. In a statement issued on September 20th the South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced that throughout the 2011 tax filing season the Service saw the highest number of early filers since records began, and an unprecedented level of electronic submissions. According to the statement, it only took 11 weeks for 2 million South African taxpayers to ... Read More

Tax authorities on the African continent are stepping up their fight against tax evasion, with three countries now committing to share tax expertise, information, and resources with each other. On July 4th the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) issued a statement, saying that three tax authorities on the African continent have now agreed to a higher level of information sharing and cooperation with the Forum in order to fight tax evasion, with a particular emphasis on compliance issues for large multinational corporations. According ... Read More

South Africa’s efforts to improve national tax compliance are paying off, with a record high number of employers submitting their annual tax reconciliations throughout the year. In a media statement released on June 9th the South African Revenues Service (SARS) revealed that its tax compliance efforts have paid off well throughout the 2011 tax season, with nearly 11 percent more employers filing their mandatory annual tax reconciliations. According to information released in SARS’s statement, a total of 235 882 employers filed annual reconciliations ... Read More