Acting National Treasury Director General, Ismail Momoniat has applauded the work of the South African Revenue Services (Sars). Momoniat says the R1.7 trillion revenue collected in the 2022/20223 financial year will go a long way in assisting the government to meet its obligations.
“To me, it’s absolutely brilliant, you know. The country is in a state of sadness and Sars is critical to the country because that’s where the revenue comes from; extra pay for social services, you know, when the economy is falling apart keeps the country very worried. What the commissioner has done and what his 12 500 employees have done is simply remarkable,” says Momoniat.
Sars claims to have recorded around R1.7 trillion in revenue for the fiscal year 2022/23. This represents a 7.9% increase over the previous year, according to the report.
The revenue service says despite the good tax collection, it saw some challenges from those who are not tax compliant.
Speaking at the Sars media briefing in Pretoria, Commissioner Edward Kieswetter says Sars saw growth in all its tax types in the 2022 revenue outcome. It also says it has achieved over 90% of tax administration targets Finance Minister, Enoch Godogwana, set out in his recent budget speech.
SARS preliminary revenue outcome for the 2022/23 financial year:
Sars says the pace of economic recovery from the Covid-19 devastation in the past year was disrupted by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, the floods in KwaZulu-Natal, load shedding and logistics challenges.
The agency says load shedding has led to a revenue loss of about R60 billion – as it affects the overall profitability and constraints business growth.
In the past financial year, gross revenue before refunds were paid was R2-trillion. Tax refunds totalled R381 billion – leaving nearly R1.7 trillion in the kitty.
