Stern approach from the taxman

The act introduces a range of penalties for non-compliance - and even accidental mistakes - that shoots first and asks questions later, so from 2013 it will literally pay you to take more care when filling in your tax return.

Vedika Andhee, tax director for Ernst & Young, said that in the past few months there had been a significant increase in the penalties being levied by the SA Revenue Service.

"The most common penalties are fixed and percentage-based penalties. Fixed penalties are levied for failure to comply with an obligation under the Income Tax Act, such as not submitting a tax return within the deadline. The minimum fixed penalty for late submission of a tax return is R250 and is levied for each month that the individual is late in submitting a tax return," Andhee said.

"If there is more than one tax return outstanding, the cumulative penalty could be significant."

For example, someone whose tax return on an annual salary of R200,000 is 12 months late will be fined R3,000 (R250 x 12).

She said the second-most common penalty was for "under-statement", which would be applied "irrespective of whether it was a genuine mistake or an attempt at deliberate evasion".

"The only difference between these two scenarios is the percentage that will apply. In the first instance, SARS could contend that reasonable care was not taken in completing the tax return and would apply a penalty of 50% of the difference between the tax that was levied and the tax that should have been levied.

"In the second scenario, SARS could levy a penalty of 150%. Should the taxpayer be a repeat offender in relation to under-statement of income, the penalty would be further increased," Andhee said.

Let us say you make a typographical mistake - and enter R60,000 instead of R600,000 for the amount earned in the past tax year. Typically, a penalty of 50% of the difference between those amounts would be levied. This can escalate to 75% if it is a repeat case.

Andhee said that should the taxpayer not pay any outstanding amounts within the time allowed, SARS might seek to recover the money with a garnishee order - in other words, docking the person's wages.

If SARS has either applied a penalty in error or there are mitigating circumstances, or you simply want to contest the automatic administrative penalty - which could be significant - there is an objection process that begins with a form at the SARS e-filing site.

Andhee said, however, that the commissioner had limited discretion to remit these penalties and SARS's history of communication with objecting taxpayers was rather impersonal and brief.

In terms of intentional evasion, the burden of proof lies with SARS, but, again, do not expect to be called in for an interview to state your case.

"The problem is that most people don't know their rights or the terminology used in the application of administrative penalties, which can make it difficult to contest a penalty," Andhee said.

"All correspondence regarding such penalties tends to be electronic, which can be intimidating and make it difficult to craft a proper objection.

"Taxpayers who have received a reminder to correct non-compliance usually receive no communication about their right to object to the demand for a return. The SARS investigation often does not go further because the process is highly automated," she said.

Source: Sunday Times via I-Net Bridge