SARS has imposed penalties on hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, many of whom only had one return outstanding. Penalties for failing to file a return even if you don’t owe any tax start at R250 for each month the return is outstanding, and penalties based on outstanding tax can be as high as R16 000 a month every month until the returns are filed.The South African Revenue Service has imposed penalties amounting to R381 million on 690 000 taxpayers for outstanding returns this year.
A SARS spokesperson confirmed that only 86 000 of the around 690 000 taxpayers penalised this year had received penalties for multiple outstanding returns. Sean van Zyl, a financial planner and tax practitioner at Old Mutual, says he recently assisted a housewife with no earnings who incurred penalties for returns not filed since 1998.
A SARS spokesperson said in cases of serious illness, accident or even death, taxpayers or their estates must file as soon as they can and then apply for the remission of the penalty as their failure to comply was due to exceptional circumstances.SARS has in the past communicated that taxpayers who earn below a certain threshold – currently R500 000 – and receive only income from which Pay As You Earn tax was deducted, do not need to file returns.
Van Zyl says often people want to dispute the penalties immediately, but they should first file the returns.
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