The confidentiality of taxpayers’ information has been a cornerstone of tax systems, globally and in South Africa, as it provides taxpayers with peace of mind that the sensitive financial and highly personal information, they are obliged to disclose to tax authorities will not be made public. However, recent developments have raised questions about this, with the public disclosure of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s tax status and a Constitutional Court ruling that re-evaluates the absolute confidentiality of tax information held by SARS.
In this article, we look at what information SARS can collect about taxpayers, how POPI and PAIA come into play, what protection is available for taxpayers’ information, and how to ensure compliance, while only providing relevant information to the tax authority.