DEPUTY Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said during the budget vote speech in Parliament that South Africa has its fair share of multinational companies that make billions of rand in revenue but pay almost no tax.This has led to feverish efforts by the tax authorities to extract more money from companies and wealthy individuals, with tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance schemes increasingly targeted by the authorities.Low growth forecasts are crimping back the ability to raise enough tax revenue, yet raising tax rates is not seen as politically correct. So, widening the tax base by improving collection methods and limiting "wriggle room" for firms to manipulate pricing and lending structures across borders are becoming the preferred methods to grow tax revenue.For the 2013-14 fiscal year, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is required to collect R898bn, nearly 10%, or R84bn, more than the previous year, yet the economy is expected to grow only at 2.7%. "Meeting this target w...
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