LETTER: SARS complaints spiral
The increase in the number of disputes the ombudsman has to resolve is alarming and illustrates that distrust of SARS is on the rise
The response to a parliamentary question posed by the Freedom Front Plus regarding complaints about the South African Revenue Service (SARS) received by the tax ombudsman indicates that all is not well with SARS and that the service cannot be trusted to resolve disputes with taxpayers on its own. I asked the finance minister how many complaints about SARS had been lodged with the ombudsman since his appointment in October 2013. From the answer, it is clear that there has been a significant increase in the number of complaints. In the 2013-14 financial year, 156 complaints were lodged, but note the escalation in the subsequent years: 2014-15 – 1,270; 2015-16 – 2,133; and 2016-17 – 3,188. The increase in the number of disputes the ombudsman has to resolve is alarming and illustrates that distrust of SARS is on the rise. Such misgivings will only increase in future as taxpayers start to realise that SARS is the system that is used to feed the Guptas and the ANC at the cost of SA and it...
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