Legal Articles and Guides

All credit balances and interest in the bank accounts of a SAPS supplier who faked that she was BEE compliant, and who scored a R56m contract to brand police vehicles, have been forfeited to the state under provisions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (Poca).

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is adamant that SARS must be legally forced to hand over former President Jacob Zuma’s tax information to her – and has taken her battle to force the tax agency to do so to the Constitutional Court, notes legal writer Karyn Maughan in a Business Day report.

Telkom is taking its fight with SARS to the Constitutional Court, following an adverse judgment handed down in the SCA last month.

SARS says if the Gauteng High Court granted a bid by the family of the late Gavin Watson to have six Bosasa companies placed under business rescue instead of being liquidated, it would be detrimental to the revenue service's ability to collect taxes.

Although former President Jacob Zuma has produced a last-minute affidavit allowing Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane access to his tax records, the wider issue – whether confidential taxpayer information has to be handed over to the Public Protector when a subpoena is issued or whether, as SARS argues, it requires the written consent of the relevant taxpayer or a court order – must still be settled.

In a clash clearly driven by deep mistrust, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter will this week square off against Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in a case that centres on former President Jacob Zuma’s tax returns – and which the revenue service stresses could have far-reaching implications for ordinary taxpayers.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter says he is satisfied after judgment was handed down by the SCA dismissing with costs an application for leave to appeal by businessman Mark Lifman relating to his tax case against the service, says a News24 report.

A Cape Town businessman, whose model daughter raised eyebrows after getting an unsolicited ‘gift’ of $15.3m (about R237m) from an admirer, has been evicted from his home, says a TimesLIVE report.

The Western Cape High Court on Friday sentenced two Cape Town executives to prison for defrauding SARS of more than R100m.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has hit back at Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s claims that former President Jacob Zuma is supporting her demands for access to his tax records.

South Africans working outside the country must prepare themselves for the new amendments to the Income Tax Act, set to come into effect from March 2020.

The non-profit Healthy Living Alliance (Heala) is lobbying the Treasury to raise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and expand the net to include fruit juices to increase its effect.

SARS has attached the assets of state capture-linked firm Trillian and its sole director, Eric Wood. During a liquidation application brought by SARS and heard in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) yesterday, it emerged that the revenue service had appointed a curator to attach Trillian's and Wood’s assets.

The government may have little choice but to hike VAT in the 26 February Budget as economic growth continues to struggle, weighing on the state’s ability to collect tax and meet the demands of SOEs, according to Absa’s prediction.

The Public Protector has still not received confirmation from former President Jacob Zuma that she may access his tax records – despite a tweet from Zuma’s twitter account in November.