TAX PROBE
HILARY JOFFE: Is Gigaba getting serious about SARS?
All the evidence points to tax administration as a big factor in the budget shortfall
Coincidentally, it seems, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has asked the president to appoint a commission of inquiry into tax administration just as the minister’s advisory committee on tax gears up to present its own 100-page report on tax administration next week. That raises some intriguing questions about the role of the commission of inquiry and how and whether it will work with the advisory committee chaired by Judge Dennis Davis, who has confirmed that the minister will receive the committee’s report on Monday. The minister’s unexpected statement on Tuesday that he had "approached President Jacob Zuma for an urgent establishment [of] an inquiry into the tax administration and governance of the South African Revenue Service [SARS]" was certainly a welcome sign that Gigaba recognises he has a problem. It would be hard not to, given the cumulative R209bn revenue shortfall the minister now anticipates over the three years of the medium-term budget, starting with the 2017 R50.8bn s...
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