When the SARS commissioner cleared his office, he left unhappy staff behind. In surveys, most were classified as "detractors" - people who would not recommend working at SARS. The most unhappy were the group of executives and chief officers, the highest-ranking people at the revenue service. This was when former SARS boss Oupa Magashule resigned, not this week's exit on suspension by Tom Moyane. It also turns out that SARS has not been adequately assessing South Africa's super-wealthy because its data is outdated. It works on far fewer high-net-worth individuals than are tracked by New World Wealth, and there are only four dedicated auditors for a sector that should yield a higher take. Instead, SARS uses tax amnesties to get really rich people to come clean on wealth exports without taxation. And the customs processes at OR Tambo International Airport, Beit Bridge and Durban Harbour are so inefficient that the losses to the fiscus are apparent even to the untrained eye. While SARS ...
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