E-filing becomes e-failing

Government departments and parastatals do not care about the illiterate and the elderly.

- Masoka Dube

After the tax filing season opened, I have watched in dismay as senior citizens, the illiterate and those who are not good with technology, struggle to file their returns.

Many people I interacted with have struggled to file their returns electronically.

Their problems were different as someone who was using their cellphone as they complained about the SA Revenue Service (Sars) App, which they said was not user-friendly.

Helping them, I realised there was nothing wrong with the App, but most of them didn't follow the instructions, while others could not understand English.

One was a colleague in his early 60s. He is a professional, educated and has mentored many young people. He is highly skilled, but his skill did not work when it comes to Sars e-filing.

His nightmare started when he received a message informing him he owed Sars more than R50 000.

As a law-abiding citizen, he was more than willing to make arrangements on how he is going to pay the money, but I have witnessed him struggling to do that.