Edward Kieswetter, commissioner of the South African Income Service. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs)
The South African Income Service (Sars) collected R1.855 trillion in tax income for the 2024-25 monetary yr, marking a 6.6% development in web income from the earlier yr, pushed by increased inflows from private earnings tax.
“The finance, neighborhood and wholesale sectors had strong positive factors, contributing to the 6.6% year-on-year development in complete income collections,” the tax company stated in a slide presentation on Tuesday.
“A restoration in client spending and a discount in inflation helped these industries, offering an indication of financial resiliency. Nevertheless, given the structural inefficiencies, comparatively elevated costs and muted demand, the mining, manufacturing, transportation and building sectors underperformed towards the nationwide common development charge.”
Sars stated it collected R733.2 billion from private earnings taxes in the course of the monetary yr ending 31 March 2025, a 12.6% development on an annual foundation. This was partly a results of above-inflation development within the finance and neighborhood sectors’ pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), which elevated by 11.16% to R701.63 billion, in addition to positive factors from the two-pot retirement annuity withdrawal system. This amounted to R11.87 billion.
Company earnings tax assortment elevated to R323.4 billion, primarily pushed by development within the finance sector, and VAT rose to R458 billion for the just-ended monetary yr.
Home VAT was supported by family expenditure, with development for giant distributors and non-large distributors growing to R12 billion and R22 billion, respectively.
Income assortment from the gasoline levy declined by 6.3% to R85.8 billion within the 2024-25 monetary yr, in contrast with R91.5 billion within the earlier yr.
The tax income assortment for the present monetary yr was increased than Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s estimate of R1.846 trillion throughout his price range speech on 12 March, Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter advised a media briefing.
The income company refunded R447.7 billion to taxpayers, in contrast with R413.9 billion the earlier yr, he stated.
“I’m happy that the R447.7 billion returned into the arms of taxpayers is sweet for the financial system,” Kieswetter added.
The commissioner stated tax compliance had improved amongst South Africa’s 32 million registered taxpayers. The voluntary compliance index rose by 0.38 share factors to 75.48%, in contrast with the earlier yr.
“This uptick in compliance efforts is shaping taxpayer behaviour,” Sars stated.
In its current price range evaluation, the treasury allotted R3.5 billion to assist Sars’ digital providers to reinforce tax income assortment, a transfer which Kieswetter welcomed.
“A sensible trendy Sars can’t exist in a authorities that isn’t sensible and trendy. We recognise that we have to repair your entire system as a result of the prepare is simply as sturdy as its weakest hyperlink,” he stated on Tuesday.
We now have a chance to leverage the progress we made at Sars by way of digital transformation … and synthetic intelligence.”
The treasury has forecast income assortment of R2.006 trillion for the 2025-26 monetary yr.
“This conveys confidence by the minister on Sars’ means to fulfill this problem,” Kieswetter stated.