{"id":67325,"date":"2024-05-31T06:57:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T06:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye"},"modified":"2024-05-31T07:54:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T07:54:21","slug":"edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye","title":{"rendered":"Edward Kieswetter kisses R24 billion goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>A Gauteng High Court ruling barring the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from installing CCTV cameras at tobacco-manufacturing warehouses is set to cost it billions in tax revenue.<\/p>\n

South Africa has a booming illicit cigarette market where manufacturers and retailers do not pay excise and value-added tax (VAT).<\/p>\n

The SA Tobacco Transformation Alliance (SATTA) estimated that the lost tax revenue from the illicit cigarette trade was at least R24 billion in 2023.<\/p>\n

SATTA\u2019s research showed that South Africans smoked 37 billion cigarettes last year. However, SARS only collected taxes on 13 billion.<\/p>\n

The excise tax is around R1 per cigarette, which leaves South Africa with around R24 billion of lost tax revenue.<\/p>\n

These figures align with Tax Justice South Africa\u2019s Yusuf Abramjee\u2019s estimates that as much as 70% to 80% of the cigarettes sold in South Africa are illicit.<\/p>\n

He highlighted that the minimum collectable tax on a packet of 20 cigarettes is well above R20. However, many smaller shops sell these packs for as little as R10.<\/p>\n

Tax Justice SA estimated that more than R20 billion in tax revenue was lost in 2022 due to the illegal tobacco trade.<\/p>\n

With increased excise taxes, SATTA\u2019s estimate of R24 billion in lost tax revenue from illicit cigarettes looks accurate.<\/p>\n

To address this problem, SARS planned to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at cigarette manufacturers\u2019 warehouses.<\/p>\n

SARS wanted to use these CCTV cameras to monitor the volume of cigarettes they produce and clamp down on illicit cigarettes entering the market.<\/p>\n

However, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria stopped SARS\u2019s CCTV plans in its tracks. Judge Linda Retief interdicted SARS from installing the cameras.<\/p>\n

Retief\u2019s ruling stated that there was no evidence that the cigarette manufacturers SARS was targeting weren\u2019t tax compliant.<\/p>\n

She added that the interdict against installing CCTV cameras would not prevent SARS from collecting tax.<\/p>\n

This ruling will make it more difficult for SARS to clamp down on the illicit cigarette trade in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Therefore, it is likely that SARS will continue to lose out on billions of tax revenue related to illegal cigarettes.<\/p>\n

Wider illicit trade is an even bigger problem<\/p>\n

SARS\u2019s headache about lost tax revenue does not stop at the illicit cigarette trade. It extends to illicit alcohol, fishing, mining, counterfeit electronics, pharmaceuticals, food, and apparel.<\/p>\n

The revenue service estimated that illicit trade costs the economy R100 billion annually and robs the country of valuable resources.<\/p>\n

Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) said illicit trade is one of the biggest threats to South Africa\u2019s stability and economic growth.<\/p>\n

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter highlighted that illicit trade costs South Africa R250 million daily.<\/p>\n

Tax Justice South Africa\u2019s Andy Mashaile said this is not a victimless crime. \u201cTax dodgers are robbing South Africans of schools, housing, healthcare, and basic safety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tax Justice South Africa said criminals have been allowed to thrive due to corruption and complacency.<\/p>\n

Mashaile said problems of illicit trade and counterfeit goods go well beyond cigarette smuggling to dodge taxes.<\/p>\n

There are many examples of counterfeit medicine and food that have resulted in South Africans\u2019 deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cCounterfeit baby formula which was manufactured in China killed 100 South African children,\u201d he said. The fake milk formula had virtually no nutritional value.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will be shocked by the amount of money which is made from selling illicit products and shopkeepers not paying tax,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. A Gauteng High Court ruling barring the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from installing CCTV cameras at tobacco-manufacturing warehouses is set to cost it billions in tax revenue. South Africa has a booming illicit cigarette market where manufacturers and retailers do not pay excise and value-added tax (VAT). The SA Tobacco Transformation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-67325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nEdward Kieswetter kisses R24 billion goodbye - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Gauteng High Court ruling barring the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from installing CCTV cameras at tobacco-man ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Edward Kieswetter kisses R24 billion goodbye\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Gauteng High Court ruling barring the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from installing CCTV cameras at tobacco-man ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-31T06:57:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-31T07:54:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/05\/sm_1717129374.749632.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Edward Kieswetter kisses R24 billion goodbye\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-31T06:57:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-31T07:54:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye\"},\"wordCount\":579,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/05\/sm_1717129374.749632.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/edward-kieswetter-kisses-r24-billion-goodbye\",\"name\":\"Edward Kieswetter kisses R24 billion goodbye - 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