South African taxpayers have submitted 1-million tax returns in 21 days.
This is from the launch of the 2016 tax season on July 1 to last Friday, July 22.
This figure was recorded and confirmed by the SARS by 17:00 last Friday.
Of all submissions, 611 453 (60.16 per cent) came through via e-filing and 404 603 (39.81 per cent) through a SARS branch.
SARS Commissioner Mr Tom Moyane said the trend towards eFiling marked a significant development. “SARS made a commitment to making the filing of a tax return an easy experience. “Since the start of Tax Season, we have emphasised the use of efiling as it is the quickest, easiest way to submit a return, and is available 24 hours. Taxpayers no longer have to stand in long queues. We have also improved supporting tools such as Help-you-eFile. These figures show that taxpayers are responding positively to the changes and are working with SARS to collect the required revenue to meet South Africa’s development agenda,” said Moyane.
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Also, Moyane thanked those South Africans who submitted their returns early.
“This achievement confirms that South African taxpayers are compliant and are committed to working with SARS.
“On behalf of the more than 14 000 SARS staff, we would like to thank taxpayers for their willingness to meet their tax obligations and responsibilities. Paying tax is a cool thing to do as it is the highest form of patriotism. This is certainly making our job of revenue collection easier,” said Moyane.
