Mic catches Godongwana’s irritation with Sars commissioner

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana seemed to have been angered by SA Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Edward Kieswetter’s comments on the National Treasury’s proposed tax increase.

This emerged at the end of a briefing by minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Godongwana and National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse on Wednesday on the postponement of the tabling of the budget.

A few weeks ago, Kieswetter told an Allan Gray seminar that the country must not be tempted into thinking that increasing tax rates automatically leads to bigger tax revenues.

Kieswetter, according to a Business Day article, said tax estimated at R800bn remained uncollected annually from individuals and companies, providing an opportunity to collect more taxes already due to the state instead of hiking taxes.

A question was asked at the briefing about Kieswetter’s comments about his opposition to tax increases. Godongwana’s answer was unclear. 

At the end of the briefing, microphones caught a conversation between the ministers and Pieterse discussing a question posed about Kieswetter. 

Pieterse was heard telling Godongwana: “I’m glad you took the question about the commissioner. You answered it much better than I would have.”

Godongwana replied: “Oh no, I was a bit worried. He is making me angry, even here he comes up with this rubbish. I said, how would it help me on the 19th even now on the 12th? He did not know that we’ve made provision for 3.5 in the new arrangement, but that 3.5 now is gone.”

Godongwana seemed to be referring to the amount the Treasury had planned to allocate to Sars before the postponement of the tabling of the budget.

According to the planned speech by Godongwana, the Treasury was committed to strengthening the country’s revenue services and had planned to allocate R3.5bn to Sars over the medium term to modernise ICT systems to enhance revenue collection and improve tax compliance.

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