SA recorded a trade deficit of R14,3-billion in July compared with June’s R180-million shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday.
Offices of Sars will stay open longer from Monday to accommodate the anticipated increase in employers wishing to submit their payroll records.
Determining whether Jacob Zuma is innocent or guilty is of the ”most pressing interest”, says the National Prosecuting Authority in court papers.
Exports of R56,24-billion and imports of R57,90-billion in May resulted in a trade deficit of R1,66-billion, Sars said on Monday.
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel commended the staff of the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for having exceeded the revenue target for the last tax year. He was speaking on Thursday at the launch of Sars’s 2008 filing season. ”When I speak to my international colleagues, they can’t match the figures,” he said.
The South African Revenue Service on Thursday announced details for the 2008 tax season, that for the first time puts specific emphasis on the central role of employers in the personal income tax system. Changes would be introduced that would impact on the legal obligation of employers who administer payroll taxes such as Paye, UIF, Site and SDL.
South Africa’s trade deficit narrowed to R5,03-billion in March from February’s figure of R5,8-billion, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Wednesday. ”March exports of R51,15-billion and imports of R56,18-billion resulted in a deficit of R5,03-billion,” Sars said.
The huge increase in the electricity price was the result of poor planning and management on the government’s part, so it should not be allowed to get tax income from that, a media report said on Friday. The government would get a R4-billion boost in taxes if Eskom was allowed to increase its prices by a nominal 60%.
Con-artists posing as South African Revenue Service (Sars) officials are trying to take tax refunds back from an unsuspecting public, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) warned on Tuesday. ”Sars is currently refunding individuals who are entitled to tax refunds and thus the storyline is quite believable,” said Sabric.
Opposition to a shipment of arms being offloaded in Durban and transported to Zimbabwe increased on Thursday when South Africa’s largest transport workers’ union announced that its members would not unload the ship. A government spokesperson said the country could not stop the shipment from getting to its destination.
A scanner costing R43-million — the first of 18 — has been put into operation at Durban harbour’s container terminal, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Tuesday. Leonard Radebe, head of customs at Sars, said the scanner would improve turnaround times at the congested Durban terminal.
South Africa exceeded its tax-revenue target by more than R800-million in the 2007/08 financial year due to strong economic growth and efficient collections. The Treasury said the South African Revenue Service (Sars) revenue service collected ,807-billion in taxes.
South Africa’s monthly trade deficit narrowed to R5,8-billion in February, compared with January’s R10,2-billion shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Monday. Compared with the previous month, exports rose by 19,28%, largely due to a sharp rise in vehicle exports, while imports increased by 6,44%.
Since September last year, divorcees have been able to receive a portion of their ex-spouse’s pension fund without waiting until retirement. But confusion about the taxation of these funds and whether divorce orders prior to the change in legislation qualify has meant that the payment has often not been made.
Foreign nationals arriving at OR Tambo International Airport will not be required to furnish customs officials with their addresses, the border control operational coordinating committee said on Monday. Committee chairperson Humbulani Ravele told a press briefing: ”As a precautionary measure, customs officials removed the address fill-ins on the forms.”
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As the National Prosecuting Authority was revealing in papers submitted to the Constitutional Court how African National Congress president Jacob Zuma allegedly failed to declare his income to the taxman, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) on Friday was keeping mum.
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/ 29 February 2008
South Africa’s monthly trade deficit widened to R10,2-billion in January, compared with December’s R1,2-billion gap, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday. Compared with the previous month, exports fell by 8% while imports increased by 13%, largely due to a rise in imports of minerals products and machinery.
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/ 25 February 2008
About R54-million-worth of cocaine, smuggled into the country from Brazil, was confiscated at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday, police said. Police in São Paulo, Brazil, had notified South African authorities on Saturday that a plane heading to OR Tambo was carrying cocaine.
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/ 22 February 2008
February 28 marks the end of the tax year in South Africa. There are 10 points South African private investors need to tick off before then, relating to retirement savings, capital-gains tax, travel-expense claims, donations, offshore investment and more.
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/ 1 February 2008
Value-Added Tax (VAT) registration would be easier from this month, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Friday. Sars said the new VAT-registration process reduced the paperwork required for registration and provided for the instant issuing of VAT registration numbers over the counter at Sars branches.
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/ 23 January 2008
More than three million tax returns were filed in the 2007 filing season, the South African Revenue Service said on Wednesday. Taxpayers have eight days left to submit tax returns but this can only be done electronically. Outstanding tax returns must be submitted by January 31 to avoid penalties.
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/ 11 January 2008
Tax collectors from 39 countries around the world meeting in an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development-sponsored conference on Friday agreed to support a further conference specifically on taxation in Africa. The conference will be hosted by the South African Revenue Service, and will take place in May this year.
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/ 13 December 2007
National, provincial and local government departments, together with state agencies in the various provinces, will work together to manage congestion at the country’s busiest land border posts over the festive season, the border-control operational coordinating committee said on Thursday.
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/ 30 November 2007
South Africa’s monthly trade deficit jumped to a record R14,73-billion in October, compared to September’s R4,3-billion shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters last week had forecast a deficit of R6,8-billion.
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/ 31 October 2007
South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R4,3-billion in September, compared to August’s R9,1-billion shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters last week had forecast a deficit of R6,4-billion, but the number is notoriously volatile and hard to predict.
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/ 30 October 2007
South Africa will record a budget surplus for the next three years due to higher-than-expected tax revenues and would invest more to boost infrastructure, the National Treasury said on Tuesday. In its Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, the Treasury said robust economic growth over the past five years had provided for a more expansionary fiscal stance.
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/ 26 October 2007
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Thousands of people in Pretoria turned up in rainy weather on Friday for a parade to celebrate the Springboks’ victory in the Rugby World Cup a week ago. They were due in Johannesburg later in the day — and in Soweto on Saturday, after a public outcry over the initial cancellation of that leg of the victory tour.
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/ 15 October 2007
The public’s response to the South African Revenue Service’s (Sars) call on tax returns is satisfying but nowhere near what is desired, Sars said on Monday. ”We are satisfied, but it would have been better if we had gone as far as registering four million,” said Sars spokesperson Adrian Lackay.
While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has moved towards liberalising trade to make the flow of goods between countries easier and economically more rewarding, non-tariff barriers such as border delays continue to be a concern, a recent study found.
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/ 28 September 2007
South Africa recorded a trade deficit of R9,1-billion in August, compared with July’s R9,4-billion shortfall, the South African Revenue Service said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters last week had forecast a deficit of R5,3-billion, but the number is notoriously volatile and hard to predict.
Small business owners have until 1pm on Saturday to submit their 2006 tax return and financial statements in support of their applications for the small business tax amnesty. ”The South African Revenue Service [Sars] is encouraged by the number of queries and visits to our offices in the past week,” it said on Friday.
Small businesses that have applied for tax amnesty must submit the required documents by Friday, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) said on Tuesday. ”After the deadline Sars will commence with enforcement actions against taxpayers who have either not applied for amnesty or submitted an incomplete application,” a Sars spokesperson said on Tuesday.