Tax started a week ago and SARS reported on Friday that 171 568 South Africans had filed their tax within 48 hours.
“Annually during tax season, criminals are very active and attempt to defraud taxpayers”, warns Stiaan Klue, Chief Executive of SA Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT).
Illegal tax practitioners profess to be a registered tax practitioners, when in fact many are not duly registered as required under law. The modus operandi of many of these criminals are an attempt to redirect refunds due to taxpayers.
“It is critical that taxpayers are careful and perform a check on their tax practitioner before providing a power of attorney to act on their behalf”, advises Mr Klue.
The Tax Administration Act requires that anyone submitting tax returns on behalf of the public for a fee, be registered with SARS and a recognised controlling body such as the SA Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT).
SAIT offers a free service to the public to verify the legitimacy of tax practitioners. The public can verify their tax practitioner by contacting verify@thesait.org.za.