South Africa’s tax debt book has grown to more than R600-billion, of which R280-billion has been identified as collectable. This year, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is targeting the collection of R126-billion of this recoverable amount, said SARS Commissioner Johnstone Makhubu.
Although SARS has various programmes and statutory relief measures in place to assist taxpayers in fulfilling their legal obligations, Makhubu warned during the recent SAIT Tax Indaba 2026 that these mechanisms should not result in fiscal leakages because taxpayers are attempting to “play games” with programmes aimed at providing legitimate relief.
For instance, in 2025 SARS introduced an Expedited Tax Debt Process in collaboration with…