It is now clear that the relationship between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and South African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane has broken down entirely. For SA, this is a disaster. Without trust and full co-operation between these two important institutions, public finances and the economy are in jeopardy. In the Budget Review, Treasury named uncertainty over the "path of revenue collection" as a key risk. Gordhan said SARS’s anticipated undercollection by R30bn for the year was not due to economic weakness alone and he had concerns about tax administration. Obviously Moyane does not share Gordhan’s concerns. Despite the shortfall, documents show he signed off on bonuses for himself and other senior management for the year despite Gordhan instructing him not to. (On Friday, Moyane said he had not yet taken the bonus.) The question now is what can be done? Sadly, the answer is that the possibilities for a satisfactory resolution border on nil. The only person with the...
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