Looking for a tax expert to help with the voluntary disclosure program

[throwaway2]

I'm posting under a new account name for obvious reasons. I've committed 2 tax sins that I'd like to atone for using the voluntary disclosure program and I'm looking for a tax expert who can help me minimize the damage. Does anyone know someone who has experience with doing this successfully?

I'm also trying to figure out how much I'm on the line for. The majority of the undeclared income came in the 2016/17 year where I had some income and a capital gain I never for an undisclosed reason considered when doing my taxes. From my calculations for that specific year I should have paid an extra +- R160k in taxes. Yes I wish I had done it at the time. I was stupid, but I'd like to make things right and now I'm looking for help.

I also didn't declare the income from 2013 up to 2020. In most years the extra tax will be around R10k apart from 2018 where it could be an extra R30k.

I've read that SARS charges 10% interest per year. How would that work for a debt from 2016. Would it be 5 x 10% = 50% or do they someohow compound it?

Is there anything else that's going to hurt a lot from this whole episode? I'm hoping putting my hand up and saying sorry will count in my favor.

 

[Speedster]

I'm posting under a new account name for obvious reasons. I've committed 2 tax sins that I'd like to atone for using the voluntary disclosure program and I'm looking for a tax expert who can help me minimize the damage. Does anyone know someone who has experience with doing this successfully?

I'm also trying to figure out how much I'm on the line for. The majority of the undeclared income came in the 2016/17 year where I had some income and a capital gain I never for an undisclosed reason considered when doing my taxes. From my calculations for that specific year I should have paid an extra +- R160k in taxes. Yes I wish I had done it at the time. I was stupid, but I'd like to make things right and now I'm looking for help.

I also didn't declare the income from 2013 up to 2019. In most years the extra tax will be around R10k apart from 2018 where it could be an extra R30k.

I've read that SARS charges 10% interest per year. How would that work for a debt from 2016. Would it be 5 x 10% = 50% or do they someohow compound it?

Is there anything else that's going to hurt a lot from this whole episode? I'm hoping putting my hand up and saying sorry will count in my favor.

Strongs!

 

[TelkomUseless]

Why do you want to open that door?

 

[throwaway2]

A few reasons. 1) It's the right thing to do. 2) I'd rather pay what I owe than pay what I owe plus penalties in the small chance I get caught. 3) And of course in the very very small chance that I get caught and they decide to try criminal charges that would be hell which could be avoided for what I roughly calculate to be between R300k-400k.

The main reason why I didn't pay the big CGT in 2016 was my anger at the government after Zuma fired Nene in December 2015 and I lost so much money due to the currency and stock market crash. I was so angry that I moved everything I had out of the country as soon as I could, which is what triggered the CGT. I didn't actually want to sell, and reinvested everything immidiately. To me that felt unjust, but it doesn't change the fact that i owed the money.

 

[deweyzeph]

You need to speak to a tax attorney, not any other kind of tax practioner, who has experience preparing voluntary disclosures. Tax attorneys have legal privilege and therefore cannot report you to the authorities. If you speak to any other kind of tax professional who does not have legal privilege then they are obligated by law to report you to the authorities. So be very careful who you "confess" your sins to, and make sure it's done under cover of legal privilege.

Just so you know, VDP applications are not always successful, there is always the risk that SARS will deny the application and throw the full might of the law against you regardless. You need to weigh up the risk and whether you can live with it or not.

 

[throwaway2]

You need to speak to a tax attorney, not any other kind of tax practioner, who has experience preparing voluntary disclosures. Tax attorneys have legal privilege and therefore cannot report you to the authorities. If you speak to any other kind of tax professional who does not have legal privilege then they are obligated by law to report you to the authorities. So be very careful who you "confess" your sins to, and make sure it's done under cover of legal privilege.

Just so you know, VDP applications are not always successful, there is always the risk that SARS will deny the application and throw the full might of the law against you regardless. You need to weigh up the risk and whether you can live with it or not.

Thanks, that's good advice. That would be my biggest fear, having the VDP be unsuccessful. You seem to know what you're talking about here, do you have anyone you could recommend?

 

[saturnz]

tax experts are for the rich

they don't come cheap

 

[Speedster]

Thanks, that's good advice. That would be my biggest fear, having the VDP be unsuccessful. You seem to know what you're talking about here, do you have anyone you could recommend?

Apart from their dodgy advertorials on myBB I've actually heard good things about the guys at Tax Consulting South Africa (taxconsulting.co.za)

 

[throwaway2]

Apart from their dodgy advertorials on myBB I've actually heard good things about the guys at Tax Consulting South Africa (taxconsulting.co.za)

Thanks yeah a lot of their "articles" do appear to be adverts, but they seem to get mostly positive reviews on google. I'll give them a call.