Firstly, there are no major deadlines in June but tax season opens in July, so make sure you have all your documentation ready for your 2018/2019 Income Tax Return.
SARS and Tax Ombud Sign Cooperation Agreement to Improve Service
Then there is some good news – a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been entered into between SARS and the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO).
In recent times, the OTO has been critical of SARS particularly in the area of tax refunds. The recent Nugent Commission of Enquiry into SARS was told of refunds being held back at year end to bolster revenue collections. In the last tax year, SARS increased VAT refunds by R38 billion to address this problem. SARS also released a Service Charter in 2018.
The MOU sets out a platform whereby each party can collaborate to mutually resolve issues. The Ombud has hailed this agreement as he believes it will speed up the resolution of taxpayer queries. At the same time both parties have stressed that the MOU will not affect their respective independence.
The agreement also covers other areas of cooperation whereby SARS will improve the flow of information to the OTO, will make key staff available to the Ombud in resolving taxpayer complaints and will assist the OTO with Human Resources, Finance and Procurement.
This MOU is a welcome step for taxpayers as faster resolution of complaints is clearly in their interests.
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