Ntsakisi Maswanganyi
FISCAL strength plays an important role in sustaining government delivery targets and the economy in general, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said at the official launch of the 2012 tax season yesterday.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) expects more than five million taxpayers to submit tax returns over the next five months.
Filing season this year comes amid recent warnings about taxpayer fatigue and SARS’s subsequent drive towards greater compliance.
Gordhan said fiscal sustainability was important for the government to deliver services to millions of poor South Africans.
The government would be able to continue delivering services despite its debt levels, the minister said.
At about 40% of gross domestic product, South Africa’s debt levels were manageable, he said.
The minister noted, however, that the 2008/09 recession caused a R60-billion loss in revenue, which was yet to be recovered.
The government was doing everything possible to sustain manageable debt levels while also delivering services, Gordhan said.
"We want to assure taxpayers that we will continue to increase our efforts to ensure effective use of the money and effective implementation,” he said.
