A bitter pill: Doctor found guilty of failing to pay tax on R17 million income

A doctor in the Northern Cape has been found guilty of eight counts of failure to submit personal income tax returns (PIT) and 42 counts of failure to submit value-added tax returns.

The Kimberley Specialised Commercial Crimes Court convicted Dr Fabian Royston Tun on Tuesday regarding more than R17 million he received between 2015 and 2022.

He will be sentenced on 30 July, and what is owed to Sars will only be known when he submits his tax returns.

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Failing to submit returns

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Northern Cape regional spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane explained that Tun was operating as a medical practitioner and trading as a sole trader in Dr FR Tun’s Practice registered with the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for both personal income tax and value-added tax purposes.

The state alleged that during the eight years in question, the accused received income amounting to R17,168,044.23.

“The accused, whilst practising as Dr Tun, failed to submit the personal income tax returns for the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years as required by the prescribed Tax Laws,” Senokoatsane said.

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“Even though the accused did not submit his tax returns during the said tax periods, the accused received taxable income, and such taxable income was not declared to the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service.

“The accused also failed to submit value-added tax returns to the South African Revenue Service for the tax periods from August 2016 to June 2023.”

Tun was arrested after investigations led by Sars, the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (DPCI) as well as the Tax Unit from the NPA led by Advocate Martin Molokwane, as well as Advocate Tebogo Moheta, who guided the investigations and prosecuted this matter in court.

Pleading guilty

“In realising the amount of evidence against his case, the accused who was legally represented pleaded guilty to all charges preferred against him by the prosecution and he was then convicted as such,” Senokoatsane added.

“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes this imperative conviction, which evidently will send a clear message to the citizens that they should refrain from not submitting their personal and business Tax Returns as they will be arrested, convicted, and sentenced accordingly.”

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