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Tax morality can be restored by rooting out "state corruption", Judge Dennis Davis said.
Davis spoke to Fin24 by phone on Tuesday where he weighed in on the state of the South African Revenue Service (SARS), which he believes can be turned around for the better.
"Reducing the level of corruption in SA society, and restoring SARS to its former glory will make a huge difference to the level of tax integrity," he said.
People want to feel their money is being spent for the purposes of which it was collected, he explained.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently appointed Edward Kieswetter as commissioner of the revenue service, a move welcomed by businesses and civil society organisations alike.
Kieswetter was a former deputy commissioner, and during his tenure at the organisation he helped establish the high net worth individuals unit and the large business unit – responsible for collecting 30% of taxable income – both of which were among those dismantled by former commissioner Tom Moyane.
Moyane was axed last year following an inquiry into the governance and administration at SARS.
Davis, was part of the independent selection panel which recommended that Kieswetter be appointed commissioner.
He explained the new commissioner has the task of restoring SARS's investigative capacity and ability to enforce the SARS Act "without fear or favour". This will make a "huge difference" in tax compliance, he explained.
"There is no question about it that the investigative capacity of SARS - the ability of SARS to enforce the rules was diminished in the last couple of years," he said. Re-establishing the various centres which were dismantled would create an environment of "greater enforcement", Davis added.
When asked to what extent public disputes between SARS and companies impact on tax morality and compliance, Davis said that because the organisation has been under public scrutiny for a number of years, people do not trust it anymore.
For this reason the new commissioner, Kieswetter, must get SARS back to the institution it was – "a jewel in the state crown."
"That will make a huge difference to the level of tax integrity," he said.
