President Cyril Ramaphosa says the turnaround of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) \u2013 from an inefficient revenue collector to hitting its highest margins in years \u2013 is proof that efficient and well-run state institutions can bolster trust between government and citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter announced that the revenue collector had recorded a 25% increase in collections \u2013 reaching at least R1.5 trillion in revenue collection between April 2021 and March this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs we forge ahead with efforts to strengthen the capacity of the state and rebuild institutions that were systematically weakened by state capture, we have much to learn from what SARS has achieved in a relatively short space of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen state institutions are well-run and efficient, when they demonstrate credibility and fairness in their operations, this contributes to increasing levels of trust in government. Business and investor confidence also improves, encouraging greater investment and economic growth,\u201d President Ramaphosa said on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President reflected on a challenging period that the revenue collector has faced, including allegations of state capture, \u201cpolitical meddling and mismanagement\u201d which had rendered SARS inefficient and ineffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis had the direct consequence of not only undermining taxpayer morality, but also loss of business confidence in the organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 2018, I appointed a commission of inquiry into tax administration and governance at SARS chaired by retired Justice Robert Nugent. The commission delivered its final report by the end of the same year. Four years later, SARS has implemented nearly all of the 16 recommendations and 27 sub-recommendations to restore stability to the organisation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the implementation of those recommendations, the revenue service has claimed several victories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo: <\/em><\/em>Unsplash<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Cyril Ramaphosa says the turnaround of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) \u2013 from an inefficient revenue collector to hitting its highest margins in years \u2013 is proof that efficient and well-run state institutions can bolster trust between government and citizens. The President was addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter. Last week, SARS […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2769,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n