Tax Services

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The fact that taxes are compared to death in their certainty implies that they must have been around a long time and they have. Forms of tax have been traced back to ancient times and have generally been accepted by societies as way for governments to supply services to their citizens.

Income tax in South Africa was first introduced in 1914 with the introduction of the Income Tax Act No 28, an act that had its origins in the New South Wales Act of 1895. The act has gone through numerous amendments with the act presently in force is the Income Tax Act No 58 of 1962 (which is updated with amendments on an annual basis). It is worth noting while SARS is responsible for collecting and administering taxes, it is the legislation enacted by parliament that requires citizens to pay the taxes and determines how the tax is calculated. 

SARS currently has 9 Strategic Objectives as follows:

• Provide CLARITY and CERTAINTY for taxpayers and traders of their obligations
• Make it EASY for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations
• DETECT taxpayers and traders who do not comply, making non-compliance HARD and COSTLY
• Develop a HIGH performing, DIVERSE, AGILE, ENGAGED and EVOLVED workforce
• Increase and expand the use of DATA within a comprehensive knowledge management framework
• Modernise our systems to provide DIGITAL and STREAMLINED online services
• Demonstrate EFFECTIVE STEWARDSHIP of our resources to ensure EFFICIENCY and EFFECTIVENESS in the delivery of quality outcomes and performance excellence
• Work with and through STAKEHOLDERS to improve the TAX ECOSYSTEM
• Build PUBLIC TRUST and CONFIDENCE in the tax administration system

While nobody enjoys paying over their hard earned income, it is important to remember that paying taxes contributes to the functioning of society. Furthermore South Africa has a progressive tax system whereby higher earners are taxed at higher rates than lower earners in order to reduce the burden on those that cannot afford it.

There certain tax structures designed to support the growth of SME businesses, such as Turnover Tax for Microbusinesses and SBC (Small Business Corporations).