More Sars SME desks on the cards

Following the successful
implementation of around
160 small business support
desks at branches across
South Africa, the South
African Revenue Service
(Sars) is looking at increasing
the number in the “near
future”.
“The small to medium
enterprise (SME) sector
currently contributes about
40% to the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP),
and Sars recognised that
it needed a strong strategy
to manage this sector,”
said Sanele Kunene, senior
manager of Sars’ small
business unit.
Speaking at the South
African Freight Forwarders’
Association (Saaff) congress
in Durban last week,
Kunene hailed the industry
association’s involvement and
support around the launch
of the desks and its role in
helping drive compliance
within the industry.
Small business
queries such as business
registrations‚ requests for
tax clearance certificates,
and general business tax
issues are dealt with at SME
support desks.
The revenue authority
has been on a massive drive
to increase tax compliance
among SMEs, with Kunene
pointing out that while there
were currently around six
million small businesses
operating in South Africa,
Sars only had about one
million on its books.
“One of the biggest
challenges we’re currently
facing is legitimising the
so-called ‘informal sector’
and ensuring registration
and compliance among
them,” said Kunene.
According to him,
the revenue authority
has introduced other
measures to facilitate
compliance within the
sector, including enabling
business registration via
mobile devices, creating
mobile tax units that travel
into the outlying areas, and
improving its stakeholder
interaction and management
programme.