[imagesource:  Ziphozonke Lushaba/African News Agency]

Every month, payday serves as a reminder of how much tax I pay.

The less said about how that is used the better, but once a year I do get a tiny percentage back from SARS after filing my taxes.

A small victory, if ever there was one.

For provisional taxpayers, there’s another deadline looming, with those who use eFiling needing to file before the end of January 29, 2021.

Navigating the labyrinth of being a provisional taxpayer alone is daunting, but SARS has implored South Africans to exercise caution when enlisting the help of people purporting to be ‘tax practitioners’ or ‘tax experts’, and promising to secure large refunds from SARS.

Just another reason to go with trusted, verified practitioners with track records to boot.

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The tax collector said that businesses and other organisations must also beware of third parties such as unknown payroll companies who offer to assist them with their PAYE submissions.

“SARS is being inundated with desperate calls from honest taxpayers who fall victim to these criminals and scammers who pocket the refunds for themselves and their accomplices as they often operate as syndicates.

“In some cases, these fraudulent submissions are the cause of delays that are experienced by law-abiding taxpayers when SARS has no other option but to verify the information that was submitted by scammers to SARS.”

If you are found to have willingly participated in any fraudulent activity, aimed at scoring a larger refund, SARS says you will be prosecuted along with the scammers.

We said it last month and we will say it again – SARS is really cracking down.

Anybody who has dealt with a shady ‘tax expert’ is encouraged to contact SARS on 0800 00 2870, or do so online.

Given the tough approach taken by SARS, we make sure that we only deal with Galbraith | Rushby, who have many years of experience offering tax compliance and advisory services to individuals and businesses.

Don’t be caught out, and make sure whoever you’re dealing with can be verified and vouched for.

[source:bustech]