SARS tightening compliance and the tax gap
The Commissioner for SARS is in the process of tightening up tax compliance with a view of breaching the tax gap. Non-compliance with taxation has become a dangerous ploy!
Cashing in on the Compliance Currency
Businesspeople should be unlocking value for shareholders and other stakeholders, not use time to explain non-compliance with tax legislation to SARS. Businesspeople are however frequently challenged with incidences of non-compliance with dire tax consequences for those found wanting. A root cause of non-compliance is often not wilful non-compliance by taxpayers, but traditional old-school wisdom that is applied in a tax world that no longer exists.
In the world of tax, especially transaction-based taxes, the operating environment changes at such a pace that it is often difficult to keep abreast with the latest best practice and interpretation. Unfortunately, an approach is often adopted whereby “if it has worked in the past, it must work now!” It is however necessary in the field of tax compliance and consulting to from time to time stop and revisit the basic principles and establish to which extent it has changed and requires new thinking.
VAT and Customs basics the webinar revisits
The upcoming webinar with Christo Theron on 14 and 20 May 2024 deals with some of the basic principles established since the introduction of VAT as well as with certain elements of Customs administration and how it has been shaped and formed since the introduction of VAT in 1991.
In this webinar he will revisit the registration process and implications if not complied with, as well as a fresh look at prescribed documentation. It will also assist tax practitioners to better understand the battlefield with regards to the tax audit trail and compliance. As such the Tax Faculty plays an instrumental role in empowering its members to be tax compliant and focus their attention on other critical business areas where value can be unlocked for shareholders and other stakeholders.
Click here to book for the event.
Frequently asked questions
What compliance pressure does the article attribute to SARS?
The Commissioner is tightening tax compliance to close the tax gap, and non-compliance is described as increasingly dangerous for businesspeople.
What root cause of non-compliance does the author highlight?
Not always wilful default, but old-school approaches applied in a tax world that has changed, including the habit of assuming that what worked in the past still works now.
What should practitioners periodically revisit?
Basic principles of tax compliance and consulting, to see how far they have changed and where new thinking is required, especially for transaction-based taxes.
What webinar topics does the article preview?
Basic VAT principles since VAT was introduced, elements of Customs administration, registration consequences, prescribed documentation, and the tax audit trail.
