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S.Africa: Aggressive SARS Audits

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PLEASE NOTE- There are extensive rights that are available to you at the commencement of an audit.

They are contained in the Tax Administration Act (TAA), the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. These issues with an update will be discussed at the 4 hour TAA Update seminar conducted by Dr Daniel N. Erasmus over 2 days. HERE are the details http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=3f35ddbecaa612ac3e16a6b12&id=74e1c5a010&e=[UNIQID]:

Dates, Cost and CPD
When: The webinar will take place over 4 hours, divided into 2 parts over 2 days.
30 September 2015
From 04:00 PM until 6:00 PM
and
1 October 2015
From 04:00 PM until 6:00 PM
Where and cost: Online – R495.00 (plus VAT) per delegate
Contact for bookings and payment:

http://www.iitf.net/product/the-definitive-taa-2015-tax-update/

Anna-Maree Rose
office@taxriskmanagement.com

 

ARTICLE – THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) is adopting more aggressive tactics to extract information from taxpayers as it tries to achieve a revenue target during a period of sluggish economic growth, tax practitioners say.

These complaints, voiced in Parliament last week, were corroborated by several tax practitioners who said the trust between SARS and taxpayers has broken down.

SARS spokesman Luther Lebelo said that the tax authority “sometimes finds that the behaviour exhibited by taxpayers and tax practitioners requires a firmer stance to be taken to ensure that the fiscus is paid what is due”.

The revenue target for the fiscal year set by the Treasury in the February budget was just more than R1-trillion. This is likely to be revised downwards next month when Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene presents his medium-term budget policy statement in the light of lower than projected economic growth.

Webber Wentzel head of tax dispute resolution and tax controversy Nina Keyser told Parliament’s standing committee on finance during public hearings on amendments to the Tax Administration Laws Act that in one case SARS requested interviews with more than 30 workers “regardless of whether they have any personal knowledge about the supposed scope of the audit”.

“We have also seen SARS requesting to interview an entire department of a company and heard of it requesting interviews with factory workers and IT departments.”

The interviews were usually conducted by teams averaging eight officials, “which is extremely intimidating”, Ms Keyser said.

South African Institute of Tax Professionals president Keith Engel said he believed that SARS “was under a lot of pressure to reach targets” and its relationship with taxpayers was becoming increasingly antagonistic.

“Tax practitioners feel they are being investigated as criminals. Taxpayers feel that they are treated as if they are guilty until proven innocent. There is a definite breakdown in trust in the relationship,” he said.

Mr Lebelo said for most of the taxpayers it was not true that the relationship had broken down.

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Dimension Transfer Pricing International Taxation South African Tax Law
Jurisdictional audience Global audience, covers all jurisdictions Global audience, covers all jurisdictions South Africa specific, relevant to SADC region
Ideal for TP managers, advisors, in-house tax teams, analysts moving into TP Advisors and managers dealing with cross-border rules, treaties, planning Practitioners working with the SA Income Tax Act, cases, compliance
Core focus Methods, comparables, DEMPE, documentation, audits, dispute defence Treaties, source vs residence, anti-avoidance, PE, relief from double tax Statutory interpretation, case law, assessments, objections, local practice
Primary tools OECD TP Guidelines, UN Manual, BEPS Actions 8–10, 13, case law OECD and UN Models, MLI, BEPS 1.0 and 2.0, domestic rules, cases Income Tax Act, SARS practice notes, Tax Administration Act, SA cases
Assessment style Case-based assignments, file reviews, short written defences Problem questions, treaty interpretation, position papers Problem questions, statutory analysis, case commentary
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Dimension Conducting a Transfer Pricing Trial Effectively Managing Tax Teams Indirect Taxation Tax Risk Management
Jurisdictional audience Global audience Global audience Global audience, with local adaptation Global audience
Ideal for In-house tax, TP managers, litigators, advisors preparing for audits, ADR, trial Heads of tax, managers, team leads, controllers, emerging leaders VAT, GST, customs, finance managers, AP, AR, compliance specialists Tax managers, risk officers, controllers, advisors building governance
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Delivery mode Online, live sessions plus guided self-study Online, live sessions plus guided self-study Online, live sessions plus guided self-study Online, live sessions plus guided self-study
Duration 16 weeks, part-time 16 weeks, part-time 16 weeks, part-time 16 weeks, part-time
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5000-word assignment if PG-Cert option elected		 End of module progress assessment

5000-word assignment if PG-Cert option elected		 End of module progress assessment

5000-word assignment if PG-Cert option elected		 End of module progress assessment

5000-word assignment if PG-Cert option elected