{"id":96326,"date":"2026-02-26T15:39:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T15:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:21:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:21:46","slug":"sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers","title":{"rendered":"SARS continues crackdown on social media influencers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said its crackdown on social media influencers is continuing in the background as the country\u2019s digital sector pulls in big numbers.<\/p>\n

This follows initial warnings by SARS in 2025 for content creators to declare their earnings amid a push for higher tax revenue.<\/p>\n

The tax authority wants a piece of the pie, as brands are increasingly turning to influencer marketing as a cost-effective way to reach targeted audiences, boosting the size and visibility of the sector.<\/p>\n

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter again addressed the matter during a media briefing ahead of the Budget Speech in Cape Town on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

In a statement in September, the revenue service justified the move as part of a bid to expand its taxpayer base.<\/p>\n

At the time, it defined social influencers as modern entrepreneurs, who can be classified as sole proprietors or independent contractors and technologically savvy individuals who leverage their online following to create commercial opportunities.<\/p>\n

In what the taxman has now described as a learning curve, Kieswetter said officials are still trying to zero in of the definition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven’t hardened the definition yet of an influencer. We’ve also begun to profile social media influencers so that we can learn about that sector. And so increasingly, we are educating ourselves and raising the awareness, asking people to voluntarily register. We will in the next period become more definitive as to what do we mean when we say you’re a social media influencer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, SARS said it will continue to handle the matter on a case-by-case basis in line with current income tax brackets.<\/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) said its crackdown on social media influencers is continuing in the background as the country\u2019s digital sector pulls in big numbers. This follows initial warnings by SARS in 2025 for content creators to declare their earnings amid a push for higher tax revenue. The tax authority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":96325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-96326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nSARS continues crackdown on social media influencers - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said its crackdown on social media influencers is continuing in the background ...\" \/>\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\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SARS continues crackdown on social media influencers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The South African Revenue Service (SARS) said its crackdown on social media influencers is continuing in the background ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers\" \/>\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=\"2026-02-26T15:39:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T16:21:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1772110168.187584.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"SARS continues crackdown on social media influencers\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T15:39:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T16:21:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers\"},\"wordCount\":290,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1772110168.187584.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\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/sars-continues-crackdown-on-social-media-influencers\",\"name\":\"SARS continues crackdown on social media influencers - 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