SARS-AR-08 – Annual Report 2005-2006
[…] from the South African Revenue Service. Enjoying its sixth consecutive year of uninterrupted growth, South Africa’s economic expansion provided the platform for revenue collection enhancements across almost all tax types. This resulted in SARS collecting R417,33 billion, exceeding its original target of R372,8 billion by over R44 billion. It was a steep mountain to climb, but with passion, commitment and sheer dedication, SARS’s staff made it to the summit. Key components of this collection were: • Personal income tax: Collections amounted to R126,4 billion, exceeding the original estimate by R8,8 billion. This growth – on the back of a 9,5% growth in the tax register – is further evidence of increased job creation over the past fi nancial year and higher average wages • Corporate income tax: Collections amounted to R87,3 billion, exceeding the original estimate by R17,7 billion. Strong economic growth, especially in the fi nancial services, telecommunication, wholesale and retail, construction and property sectors, was a primary factor in this area of collections as well as improved provisional tax payments through engagements with large corporates by the Large Business Centre and the effective application, where necessary, of Paragraph 19 (3) of the Income Tax Act • VAT: Strong consumer spending buoyed by the growing economy, relatively low interest rates and a stronger rand saw VAT collections once again perform beyond expectations. VAT collections totalled R114,4 billion for the year in review, R8,4 billion ahead of the printed estimate • Customs duty: Linked to strong consumer spending and a more stable rand was a growth in domestic demand for imported products which saw R18,3 billion in customs duties collected during the year, R5,3 billion beyond the original estimate. Most importantly, the revenue gains provided government with funding to further expand its social development programmes while at the same time providing additional tax relief to taxpayers, including over R7,1 billion in relief for individuals. It did this while maintaining its strict fi scal discipline of a budget defi cit of below 3%. Annual Report2.indd Sec2:9Annual Report2.indd Sec2:9 9/14/06 10:21:38 PM9/14/06 10:21:38 PM South African Revenue Service Annual Report 2005/06 6 Sustainable revenue collection improvements cannot only rely on economic growth. They must be coupled with improved compliance and enhanced service and effi ciency from SARS. I am pleased to report advances in both these areas during the year under review. Ongoing education and awareness, in tandem with improvements in our enforcement abilities, saw further gains in tax compliance. At the forefront of this drive to enhance voluntary compliance was our annual Filing Season campaign which continues to be a defi ning moment in the annual tax calendar. Once again tax registrations grew and we witnessed further impressive leaps in the number of taxpayers who engaged with SARS and submitted their returns by the deadline. Most heartening to note is that increasingly, South Africans are accepting not just their legal duty to meet […]