Fast tax debt relief

PROCESS: SARS OFFERS LIMITED-TIME LIFELINE FOR INDEBTED TAXPAYERS

- Amanda Visser

Many taxpayers with outstanding tax debt will soon have an opportunity to participate in an "expedited" tax-debt compromise process with the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

The compromise will only be extended to undisputed tax debt where the taxpayer and Sars agree that there is a debt, but the taxpayer is simply unable to pay the amount in full.

Sars has teamed up with recognised controlling bodies (RCBs) such as the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica), the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (Saipa), and the Chartered Institute for Business Accountants (Ciba).

It appears the long-term outstanding debt linked to taxpayers represented by registered tax practitioners is more than R96 billion. This amount may include cases under review or subject to revised assessments.

"It reflects the scale of the compliance challenge, and the opportunity to recover substantial funds if the process is managed pragmatically," says Nicolaas van Wyk, CEO of Ciba.

Debt compromise