SARS apologises to taxpayers for legal threats
SARS issued a general warning on 24 October via SMS cautioning that failure to submit a tax return was a criminal offence and that if returns were not submitted within 10 days of receiving the message, a"criminal process" would ensue.However, SARS has since put the SMS on hold and issued an apology for threatening honest taxpayers.
However, on Wednesday, SARS appeared to backtrack from the threatening message, saying it was merely striving to remind taxpayers of their legal obligation to file their returns, as well as the potential consequences for not doing so. That is expected to push the budget deficit to 5.1% of GDP according to the latest Reuters poll of 13 economists, worse than Treasury’s February prediction of a shortfall of about 4% of GDP. That will force government to increase its borrowing in the capital markets, pushing the country’s debt to GDP ratio to 73.2% of GDP this fiscal year, according to the Reuters poll, higher than the 72.
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