Tax return warning for taxpayers

[BusinessTech]

Tax return warning for taxpayers

A last-minute change by SARS means taxpayers who are trying to regularise their old tax returns may have to wait a long time to do so.

 

[A Third Force]

99.9% of the returns filed older than 5 years were fraudulent. Non-compliant taxpayers can go stand in the queue.

 

[deweyzeph]

99.9% of the returns filed older than 5 years were fraudulent. Non-compliant taxpayers can go stand in the queue.

I would guess that the vast majority of taxpayers with outstanding tax returns older than 5 years are South Africans who moved overseas and never bother to tell SARS. Which makes this decision even more baffling because this now makes it even less likely that they will comply and submit their returns. They're certainly not going to fly back to South Africa to physically go to a SARS branch.

 

[A Third Force]

I would guess that the vast majority of taxpayers with outstanding tax returns older than 5 years are South Africans who moved overseas and never bother to tell SARS. Which makes this decision even more baffling because this now makes it even less likely that they will comply and submit their returns. They're certainly not going to fly back to South Africa to physically go to a SARS branch.

Once they want to take money out of SA and the SARB ask them for the SARS clearance they have got a problem.

 

[HermeticAnarchist]

F*** SARS

 

[deweyzeph]

Once they want to take money out of SA and the SARB ask them for the SARS clearance they have got a problem.

People who emigrate without telling SARS and formally ceasing their SA tax residency are unlikely to have those sorts of assets anyway. I would guess most people who fall into that category just sell up everything they have in SA and transfer the money across using their SDA (or lumping together their SDA with their spouse's SDA) which doesn't attract any scrutiny from SARS.

 

[A Third Force]

People who emigrate without telling SARS and formally ceasing their SA tax residency are unlikely to have those sorts of assets anyway. I would guess most people who fall into that category just sell up everything they have in SA and transfer the money across using their SDA (or lumping together their SDA with their spouse's SDA) which doesn't attract any scrutiny from SARS.

Many still have retirement funds in SA and run into issues when they want to access it. Also happens when they have an inheritance.

 

[deweyzeph]

Many still have retirement funds in SA and run into issues when they want to access it. Also happens when they have an inheritance.

That's why I long ago stopped contributing to my retirement annuity, especially since they brought in the new rules about having to be non-tax resident for 3 years before you can access it. A retirement annuity is a bad idea now if you think you may want to emigrate some day.