BAT backs R4bn Sars boost for illicit cigs battle

South Africa's largest cigarette manufacturer, British American Tobacco (BAT), says allocating additional funding to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) will allow it to recover uncollected tobacco taxes lost to illicit trade.

- Anathi Madubela

This comes after the National Treasury increased the size of the revenue service budget by R4 billion in the recently tabled budget, bringing the total over the next three years to R7.5 billion.

"Broadening the tax base and improving the administrative efficiency of the South African Revenue Service allows us, over time, to spread the tax burden more evenly and equitably," Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said in his budget speech.