‘Smart’ Sars goes virtual for this year’s tax filing season

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) is steaming ahead despite the pandemic with many innovations that will make it easier for tax payers to submit their tax returns online.

Sars’s offices across the country were closed last week and will stay closed for six weeks, but even people without smart phones will be helped virtually.

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“We are launching a completely virtual tax filing season,” Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said last week.

“The shift towards a virtual tax filing season is aligned to our vision of a smart modern Sars, but it is also an accelerated response triggered by the pandemic.”

Sars has started to transfer all tax payers to virtual filing using continuous messaging, social media, the Sars website, educational videos and webinars on YouTube, simplified letters, external guides and its chatbot, Lwazi.

Tax payers can also use the Sars toll-free number or send an SMS to make bookings or get a call back.

Last year, Sars converted more than 450 000 taxpayers from branch filing to online filing and assisted more than 180 000 taxpayers by appointment.

According to Kieswetter, these efforts ensured that more than four million branch interactions were migrated to digital platform.

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Sars also offers an auto-assessment to more than three million taxpayers, where Sars presents an assessment outcome based on the information it has access to.

Taxpayers then accept the assessment or edit their returns if they have additional information.

Kieswetter also said that Sars is making steady progress to improve its capability to detect and respond to non-compliance.

So far Sars has prevented fraudulent attempts to obtain a refund of R57 billion (all taxes) and specifically R5 billion for personal income tax.

Sars also detected more than 26 000 individuals who had economic activity in excess of R1 million, but who were not registered for tax.

In addition the new high wealth individual segment has started its work by sending letters to 275 wealthy individuals who have financial assets abroad.

Employers who deduct tax but fail to pay it over to Sars are also being targeted.

inao@citizen.co.za