SARS aims to collect R1.265 trillion

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Pretoria - With the 2017 tax season in full swing, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is targeting revenue collection of R1.265 trillion.

“SARS wishes to inform the media that the new revenue target for the 2017/18 financial year is R1.265 trillion,” it said on Tuesday.

The tax season opened on 1 July 2017 for eFilers, while it opened on Monday for those filing their tax returns at SARS branches.

On Tuesday, the revenue service said it had noted incorrect media reports of the revenue target for the 2017/18 financial year following the launch of this tax season by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane in Soweto on Monday.

SARS said it does not determine the revenue target but that it is determined by the Revenue Analysis Working Committee (RAWC). The committee comprises National Treasury, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and SARS, which analyses and forecasts economic developments.

SARS has, for the last two years, broken the trillion rand mark. The preliminary outcome for the 2016/17 financial year was R1.144 trillion. 

“This extraordinary revenue target has been set in a strained economic environment and will see SARS put in extra effort to continue to bolster the national purse,” said SARS.

Last year’s tax season saw SARS receive 6.31 million income tax returns. Tax season is the single biggest annual engagement between ordinary citizens and SARS. - SAnews.gov.za