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Parliament - After tackling VAT evasion with considerable
success, the SA Revenue Service will take on rampant tax fraud in the
construction sector, Commissioner Oupa Magashula said on Tuesday.
Magashula told Parliament's standing committee on finance
that construction was the least tax compliant of all sectors of the formal
economy.
This was particularly troubling, he said, because
contractors who secured government tenders received large sums of public money
for projects.
"Given that this sector receives a significant portion
of public infrastructure spending from the fiscus, compliance is even more
critical.
"We intend to ensure that those companies benefiting
from public sector tenders maintain their compliance for the duration of the contract
and don't only need a tax clearance certificate at the beginning of the
process".
Magashula announced in October last year a new verification
system had prevented some R4bn in VAT fraud. He said this figure had grown to
R11bn in recent months.
The new VAT system gave people who filed suspicious refund claims the option to submit more supporting documentation, or required them to revise their declaration.
