What is a tax crime?

Tax crime manifests in many forms. Here are some key examples:

• People don’t declare income to evade paying tax on that income.
• People lie about their expenses to reduce the tax they pay or to obtain an undue refund. For example, they may lie about their business mileage, business expenses or even medical contributions.
• People just don’t submit a tax return to SARS or fail to truthfully respond to our questions.
• Employers sometimes deduct tax from employees and never pay it over to SARS.
• Vendors whether registered for VAT or not sometimes charge VAT and never pay it over to SARS.
• Entities submit fraudulent invoices in an attempt to pay less tax or obtain undue (fraudulent) refunds (Income Tax and VAT).
• Individuals do not register for tax purpose to evade paying their dues.
• People do not submit returns as and when required to evade paying taxes due to SARS.
• Employers withhold employees tax (PAYE) and do not pay it over to the SARS.