Industry updates | December 2023
Please take note of the following industry updates that may be relevant to you and your business.
COMPLIANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Due dates for reporting and payments- December 2023:
TAX ADMINISTRATION
1. SARS welcomes the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework developed by the OECD:
In a joint statement issued on 10 November 2023, South Africa and other signatory jurisdictions to the Common Reporting Standard welcomed the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) as developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
According to the statement, “the widespread, consistent and timely implementation of the CARF will further improve our ability to ensure tax compliance and clamp down on tax evasion, which reduces public revenues and increases the burden on those who pay their taxes.”
The current signatory jurisdictions invite other jurisdictions to join with a view to enhancing the global system of automatic information exchange, which leaves no hiding places for tax evasion.
STATEMENT:
“To keep pace with the rapid development and growth of the crypto-asset market and to ensure that recent gains in global tax transparency will not be gradually eroded, we welcome the new international standard on automatic exchange of information between tax authorities developed by the OECD – the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The widespread, consistent and timely implementation of the CARF will further improve our ability to ensure tax compliance and clamp down on tax evasion, which reduces public revenues and increases the burden on those who pay their taxes.
As jurisdictions that play host to active crypto markets, we therefore intend to work towards swiftly transposing the CARF into domestic law and activating exchange agreements in time for exchanges to commence by 2027, subject to national legislative procedures as applicable. In order to ensure consistency and a smooth implementation for both business and governments, those of us that are signatory jurisdictions to the Common Reporting Standard will also implement, in line with the above timeline and subject to national legislative procedures as applicable, amendments to this standard as agreed by the OECD earlier this year.
We invite other jurisdictions to join us with a view to enhancing the global system of automatic information exchange which leaves no hiding places for tax evasion.”
2. SARS officially hands over non-compliant taxpayers to debt collectors:
On 15 November 2023, SARS notified all recognised controlling bodies that they have officially started handing over non-compliant taxpayers to debt collectors as was communicated and planned in July 2023.
Taxpayers can check the list of third-party debt collectors should one of the third-party debt collectors contact them. The list will be made available on the SARS website in due course.
3. SARS shares statistics on the first part of Filing Season 2023:
The first half of the filing season went off with very little disruptions for non-provisional taxpayers, SARS has thanked all the non-provisional taxpayers for fulfilling their legal obligations timeously.
The revenue service had received a total of 7 million returns from non-provisional taxpayers, compared to 6 million last year with the following breakdowns:
• 88% of returns received were made through the eFiling and MobiApp platforms;
• 93% of returns were processed in 5 seconds;
• 79% of refunds were processed within 72 hours; and
• More than R29 billion has already been paid in refunds.
As part of the auto-assessment process, SARS issued 4 million auto assessments compared to the 3 million auto-assessments issued during the 2022 Filing Season. Through the use of data science, algorithms, machine learning and the various third-party data sources, SARS has seen an increase in levels of compliance.
SARS remains concerned about non-compliant taxpayers who have not submitted a return as required, in which SARS identified:
• Registered taxpayers who have not, for whatever reason, filed a return;
• Taxpayers who have not made a payment where it was due;
• Taxpayers who are not registered as taxpayers despite being economically active; and
• Taxpayers who may in the past not have been required to file, but receive income from employment, investments, rental, or other income; certain taxpayers may also have received shares or have active business interests that push them above the income threshold, which means they have to file.
Taxpayers are still reminded to submit their 2023 income tax returns, and provisional taxpayers are also reminded of the Filing Season deadline on 24 January 2024.
4. Closing out the year:
As we draw closer to the end of another exciting and successful year, we would like to thank our clients, readers, and followers for their continued support and loyalty to Stratfinn. All of this would be meaningless without you.
We would also like to wish you a restful, safe, and very happy festive season. We cannot wait to see everyone next year, we have some very exciting stuff in the pipeline, that we know that you are going to love.
- Domonique Ramos | 1 Decmber 2023