A mere 2 647 taxi operators of more than 135 000 in the country have registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Department of Labour said on Monday.
Said departmental spokesperson Kgomotso Sebetso: ”Taxi owners are obliged in terms of the sectoral determination to register their businesses and workers to make the 2% monthly contributions to the UIF. It’s not fair that the taxi owners don’t want to comply with the law, because we can’t make a separate law for them.”
The South African Revenue Service in August announced a tax amnesty for small businesses, including taxi operators, to give them a chance to become tax compliant without the large costs of previous tax, penalties and interest.
”The Department of Labour pleads with taxi operators to take advantage of the tax amnesty for small business and register with the UIF, without worrying about being penalised for the previous non-compliance,” said Sebetso.
The Taxi Sectoral Determination launched by the Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, in April last year extended social protection to taxi drivers by including them in the UIF. — Sapa