Speech by Mr Hennie Bekker MP
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National Assembly Cape Town: 14 June 2007 Madam Speaker:The bills before the House translate the tax proposals made by the Minister of Finance during his budget speech in February into law. During the First Reading debate on the Appropriation Bill, the IFP pointed out that the task of meeting government's increased estimate of expenditure was simplified by the massive overrun of revenue from tax on the different sectors, being Personal Tax, Value Added Tax and particularly Corporate / Company tax which produced more than R30 billion surplus. One of the key recommendations of the Katz Commission was the use of special amnesties to broaden the tax base and to encourage tax compliance. SARS have used a variety of these special amnesties over the years which is one of the reasons why the tax base has grown so much and why tax revenue is constantly under-estimated. The small business tax amnesty is an example of the special amnesties to broaden the tax base and on its announcement, the IFP expressed strong support for it. We must therefore welcome the extension of the application deadline to end June and the further announcement that supporting documents only have to be submitted by 31 August. The incredible success of this special amnesty - with more than 275 000 applications to date - clearly shows that South Africans are viewing tax collection and their tax obligations in a much different light than in the past. The public must be congratulated on their sense of duty and responsibility to equitably fund the needs of our democracy through their tax contributions. Clearly, every citizen in SA Inc. who diligently pays his / her tax dues, can claim to be a partner in improving the lives of all South Africans. We must also congratulate SARS, not just for its efficiency in tax collection, but also for its transformation from the once-dreaded Receiver to a trusted, compassionate and professional organisation that clearly has the confidence of the public and taxpayers. The IFP noted that the Minister announced on 4 June that he was requested by five organisations to extend the amnesty deadline for small businesses. These organisations were: . SA Institute of Professional Accountants . SA Institute of Chartered Accountants . SA Chamber of Business . SA National Taxi Association And then very mysteriously the National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA (NAPTOSA) among the small businesses representatives. Maybe I am just confused but I don't see any relevance in teachers applying for amnesty in terms of these specific amnesty proposals. The IFP would like to urge the Minister to consider other special tax amnesties in future. On the evidence of the small business amnesty, there must be a very good chance that others in different categories would also prove to be as successful in broadening the tax base and the expected increases in revenue. The IFP will support the bills. Thank you |