SARS won't comment on Vavi's tax affairs

Zwelinzima Vavi Image: Cosatu

"SARS seeks to apply the tax and customs laws it administers with fairness, in a transparent and even-handed manner without any external influence," spokesman Adrian Lackay said.

"No single person in SARS can decide who to investigate, who to audit, who to settle tax debts with and who not to," he said. "There is absolutely no legal basis for SARS to target any taxpayer for political reasons," he added.

Lackay was responding after comments made on Twitter over the SARS investigation into Vavi. He said SARS would not make public comments on Vavi's tax affairs.

Lackay said it was unfortunate that people turned to social media platforms to speak about their taxes.

"It is unfortunate that high profile public figures in this country use social media platforms to try and conjure up conspiracies about their tax positions," he said.

"Any taxpayer is legally entitled to raise any tax issue directly with SARS at any level of the organisation in order to resolve a tax dispute," he added.

He said there were far more constructive and preferred ways to raise tax issues than making public statements about them.

Lackay said SARS interacted with more than two million taxpayers every year through various methods of communication.

In August, Cosatu placed Vavi on special leave after he said he had had an affair with a colleague.

Source: Sapa via I-Net Bridge