SARS PAYE not paid

JacksonR said:
I think this is the right place to post.

So I received a notification that I owe SARS around 10k (exact amount of the rebate) for outstanding debts for the 2019 financial year.

Upon phoning SARS to inquire they said that PAYE has not been paid over from my previous employer, and I as the employee need to pay it back.

I’ve contacted the rest of my ex colleagues (who all left the company as well) and it’s the exact same for them.

Has anyone experienced something similar ? And what was the result ?

I’ve submitted a dispute, so still waiting for the outcome. It shows that the PAYE was deducted from my salary.
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Did you perhaps work for the ANC? They owe SARS R100m from unpaid PAYE they deducted from their employees.

JK!

It's easier for SARS to go after soft targets than to go after the big boys.
 
marco79 said:
Did you perhaps work for the ANC? They owe SARS R100m from unpaid PAYE they deducted from their employees.

JK!

It's easier for SARS to go after soft targets than to go after the big boys.
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SARS slaps ANC with R102m tax bill – sheriff instructed to attach property

The ANC employs 346 staff members at Luthuli House, and it has not paid over employee tax, UIF or the skills development levy, although it deducted these from staff SARS has slapped the ANC with a R102-million bill for unpaid taxes that it had to go to the high court to get paid. In December...
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
marco79 said:
Did you perhaps work for the ANC? They owe SARS R100m from unpaid PAYE they deducted from their employees.

JK!

It's easier for SARS to go after soft targets than to go after the big boys.
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I wish ha ha . Then I would have earned a massively inflated salary and wouldn’t worry about a few cents.

But yeah it is easier to go for soft targets.
 
Kosmik said:
This has always been the law.
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Not arguing. But it seems like its something that happens more often than one would think.

Can anyone actually confirm that their employer does in fact pay over the PAYE after deducting it.
 
Nemesys said:
Your IRP5 for that tax year should reflect the amount of PAYE deducted from your salary. That is all proof you need that PAYE were deducted. Hopefully you kept the original. You are obliged to keep all documentation used to submit your tax return for 5 years. If your ex employer issued you with IRP5 reflecting the amount SARS now claim from you he committed fraud and it should be their problem not yours.
It took the almost 3 years to find that they never received the PAYE payment . Really??
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I have everything (IRP5, payslips) on file, including the years bank statements. Such a meagre salary in anycase. But yeah. Wonder if they will investigate further to determine if he paid PAYE in the previous years. One of my ex colleagues worked there for a decade
 
One thing about Sars... They always make you pay... Make no mistake about that, might take years but you will pay :cautious:
 
JacksonR said:
Not arguing. But it seems like its something that happens more often than one would think.

Can anyone actually confirm that their employer does in fact pay over the PAYE after deducting it.
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I'm not sure if an employer is obligated to disclose this but one way is to have good relations with HR and finance as they would submit and pay PAYE and be able to confirm if it was paid. Unless its a very small company where the owner is doing these functions.

Another option is to request a tax clearance. They will not have one if they have unpaid taxes. The tax clearance system now is different in that the status updates almost instantly when there is anything outstanding by the company.

My opinion is that an employee should be entitled to confirmation that PAYE was in fact paid. There is very little information that you can gain from the submission besides the total PAYE that was declared so giving a copy of the EMP201 and the proof of payment to an employee should not be an issue.

And it does happen more often than you would think.
 
If these things can happen, then what is the point of PAYE?

- Money is deducted from you with the intention of paying it to SARS
- Money sits with employer, to be paid on your behalf to SARS
- Afterwards, you still bear 100% responsibility for any monies owed

How does this compute to fairness? It's not like you can opt out of PAYE.

You always assume all the responsibility, but also have to give up all control?
 
Something similar happened to me many years ago. Company closed down and didn't pay tax.

In the end I had to submit a affidavit, bank statements etc as proof and it was settled.
 
r4nd0m said:
If these things can happen, then what is the point of PAYE?

- Money is deducted from you with the intention of paying it to SARS
- Money sits with employer, to be paid on your behalf to SARS
- Afterwards, you still bear 100% responsibility for any monies owed

How does this compute to fairness? It's not like you can opt out of PAYE.

You always assume all the responsibility, but also have to give up all control?
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My thoughts too. If we're going to be held ultimately responsible, then stop deducting PAYE from our salaries and let us sort it out.
 
3WA said:
My thoughts too. If we're going to be held ultimately responsible, then stop deducting PAYE from our salaries and let us sort it out.
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Would LOVE to see how SARS handles it when employees are in charge of paying over PAYE on a monthly basis - imagine how easy a full blown tax revolt will be when this happens?
Unfortunately for OP, you are liable for the PAYE to SARS according to the below:
Since the employees retain ownership of the PAYE deducted, this article shows that employees have locus standi to lay a charge of theft against an employer who wrongfully and unlawfully appropriates an employees' property in the form of PAYE withheld. Since such a charge is not related to tax administration, it matters not that no provisions are made for theft as a sanction against defaulting employers. Furthermore, in the event of the nonpayment of PAYE, the SARS may recover the unremitted tax from either the employee or the employer concerned because, as shown above, both are in law jointly and severally liable for unremitted PAYE.
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Source: http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/pelj/v23n1/35.pdf

See also this as a guide, though the two sources seem to be at odds with the conclusion: http://www.sataxguide.co.za/faq-employee-tax-if-employer-does-not-pay-sars/
 
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Best is to dispute it as you did and wait for an outcome. You will need to probably need to report your company / boss for fraud.

But in the end the responsibility comes back to you. I am surprised at how many employees just blindly trust their companies to do the right thing. You should have e filing and you should check everything is up to day every month and every year. Learned the hard way as well, and that is using an accountant.

Dont EVER trust that anyone else, besides yourself, will do the right thing with your money and taxes, not even an accountant.

Tax should be taught in school as a mandatory subject. Too bad it won't happen as most won't get jobs anyways.
 
Mista_Mobsta said:
employees are in charge of paying over PAYE on a monthly basis
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They might not be "in charge" of paying it, but they are responsible for making sure it is paid. Your money. Your taxes.

I don't think all employees should handle their own taxes for various reasons, but I do think they should at the minimum check that it has been done.
 
RedViking said:
They might not be "in charge" of paying it, but they are responsible for making sure it is paid.
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How can I be responsible if I don't have the choice? At which point will I know it's not paid? Look at OP's example - 3 years later. How did this pass for three years?

RedViking said:
I don't think all employees should handle their own taxes for various reasons,
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Agreed. Most don't have the knowledge or discipline to.
 
This is what SARS means when they say they are going after "defaulters"....

It's not the corrupt, the criminals, the looters, the non-payers. It's you and I... the ordinary tax-payers they are going after.
 
r4nd0m said:
How can I be responsible if I don't have the choice? At which point will I know it's not paid? Look at OP's example - 3 years later. How did this pass for three years?


Agreed. Most don't have the knowledge or discipline to.
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It is completely unfair to hold employees responsible for taxes from money they never received, but this is ANC Africa, and tax payers are their cash cows nothing more.
 
RedViking said:
Sort it out right now. Don't wait 3 years.
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You're assuming OP had knowledge of this for 3 years.

It could only have been presented to him recently while he successfully filed subsequent returns.
 
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