Zuma Points To SARS Success

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

24 August 2011

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has stressed that the South African Revenue Service (SARS) must be protected from interference, and must continue its impartial actions to ensure full compliance with the tax code by all South Africans.

Zuma told guests at the annual SARS Amakhwezi Awards ceremony in Johannesburg that “it is imperative for SARS to maintain its independence, its values, its moral authority and its objectivity. … We cannot and will not tolerate anyone - from within government or outside of government - to denigrate the hard-won reputation you have built."

He added that “SARS has an exceptional record of revenue collection”, and that "it is no exaggeration to single out SARS as one of the most efficient, effective, highly regarded, fair and trusted institutions of state over a prolonged and sustained period".

Zuma pointed out that SARS has played a huge role in helping the government achieve its goals, confirming that, over the past 10 years, SARS had collected a “staggering” ZAR4.9 trillion (USD681.7bn) to fund South Africa's growth and development. “The ability of a country to borrow from capital markets,” he said, “is linked to its capacity to collect taxes."

SARS uses the Amakhwezi Awards to honour those employees within the organization who have gone beyond the call of duty to ensure the achievement of the revenue service's mandate. Among those who also attended the event were Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and SARS Commissioner Oupa Magashula.

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