{"id":93004,"date":"2025-11-15T14:30:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T14:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate"},"modified":"2025-11-15T15:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T15:01:46","slug":"state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate","title":{"rendered":"State-Run Institution That Works Well Despite Hate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is one of the few state-run institutions in South Africa that still works properly. It is efficient, well-managed, and consistently meets its targets.<\/p>\n

However, this is because it\u2019s the agency that takes money from the public and gives it to the government\u2014and taxpayers get very little in return.<\/p>\n

While the efficiency of SARS should be praised under normal circumstances, it actually hurts the country\u2019s economy because the rest of the public sector is highly inefficient.<\/p>\n

This is according to Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt, who highlighted how the strong performance of SARS only highlights the weakness elsewhere in the public sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cSARS is very efficient. SARS is one of the few institutions under the control of the politicians that are still working very well in South Africa,\u201d Roodt said in an interview with BizNews.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes sense, because that is where the money comes from\u2014they\u2019re the guys taking money out of our pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roodt said SARS performs well because the government depends on it for money. \u201cThere\u2019s huge pressure on SARS to collect as much as they possibly can because the state\u2019s finances are in trouble and it needs more money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very professional, and that pressure has made them extremely effective at what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

While other state-owned enterprises like Eskom, Transnet, and the Post Office have collapsed under corruption and mismanagement, SARS continues to function efficiently.<\/p>\n

It regularly meets or exceeds its annual tax collection targets, even when the economy is struggling.<\/p>\n

During the recent Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that SARS collected R19.7 billion more than expected in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n

The higher collections came mainly from VAT, lower VAT refunds, and stronger fuel levy and corporate tax income.<\/p>\n

SARS\u2019s operations are also highly efficient. Its cost-to-tax-revenue ratio is lower than most developing countries, meaning it collects more tax at a lower cost.<\/p>\n

It has invested in digital systems and data analytics to improve compliance and detect tax evasion. Internationally, South Africa\u2019s tax administration is regarded as one of the best among emerging markets.<\/p>\n

The real golden goose<\/b><\/p>\n

Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt<\/p>\n

However, Roodt said SARS\u2019s success only highlights the weaknesses elsewhere in government.<\/p>\n

The more money SARS collects, the more that is handed to a state that spends it poorly. \u201cUnfortunately, it\u2019s coming at a very dear price because the state is highly inefficient today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they take one rand out of my pocket or your pocket and give it to the Minister of Finance, that money spent in the economy is worth much less than if you and I were to spend that same rand. We would spend it much more efficiently than the Minister of Finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roodt said SARS has been aggressive in its collection efforts, and tax collection seems to be running ahead of estimates.<\/p>\n

For Roodt, this reflects one of South Africa\u2019s biggest problems\u2014the productive private sector is constantly funding an inefficient public sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just taking money away from the productive side of the economy and giving it to the unproductive side, or largely unproductive side. That\u2019s just not good for the economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he said that while frustration about how the government spends tax money is understandable, refusing to pay taxes is not the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people have said to me, \u2018Let\u2019s start a tax revolt because the ANC is wasting our money.\u2019 But I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the right way of doing things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you succeed in a tax revolt, it\u2019s very difficult to turn that around. And, anyway, millions of people directly depend on the state to survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve got a responsibility as South Africans to provide that social safety net\u2014but we are certainly overdoing things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roodt believes the focus should not be on squeezing more tax out of an already struggling economy, but on growing the economy itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cSARS is efficient because it has to be\u2014it\u2019s the state\u2019s lifeline. But once that money reaches the rest of the public sector, it largely disappears into inefficiency and mismanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real golden goose is the economy. You\u2019ve got to grow the economy. That\u2019s the answer\u2014not taking more money out of the same shrinking base. SARS is doing its job. The rest of the state needs to start doing theirs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is one of the few state-run institutions in South Africa that still works properly. It is efficient, well-managed, and consistently meets its targets. However, this is because it\u2019s the agency that takes money from the public and gives it to the government\u2014and taxpayers get very little […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":93003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-93004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nState-Run Institution That Works Well Despite Hate - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is one of the few state-run institutions in South Africa that still works prope ...\" \/>\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\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State-Run Institution That Works Well Despite Hate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is one of the few state-run institutions in South Africa that still works prope ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate\" \/>\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=\"2025-11-15T14:30:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-15T15:01:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/11\/sm_1763206218.029573.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"676\" \/>\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=\"4 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\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"State-Run Institution That Works Well Despite Hate\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-15T14:30:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-15T15:01:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate\"},\"wordCount\":775,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/11\/sm_1763206218.029573.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/state-run-institution-that-works-well-despite-hate\",\"name\":\"State-Run Institution That Works Well Despite Hate - 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