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South African Tax Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has welcomed the unanimous ruling of the Constitutional Court confirming the right of the tax collector to withhold taxpayer information.
The position was confirmed in the matter of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane v. Commissioner et al.
In a statement, Kieswetter said the case dealt with the fundamental principle that taxpayer information is confidential and a sacrosanct pillar of SARS in its quest for voluntary compliance.
“All taxpayers must have confidence that SARS will fight to protect this right without fear, favor or prejudice,” Kieswetter said.
He said SARS has a strict duty to preserve and protect the confidentiality of taxpayers.
This case, he said, “has never been about challenging the Public Protector, or protecting the interests of any particular taxpayer.”
“All taxpayers are equal before the law, and SARS has a duty to protect the confidentiality of the taxpayer, regardless of their position in society, and to apply the law uniformly regardless of the individuals involved,” Kieswetter said.
The Constitutional Court ruling “firmly confirms” the confidentiality of taxpayer information, as found in the Tax Administration Law of 2011, SARS said in the statement.
“This confirms my position to resist the summons from the Public Protector to access taxpayer information. I welcome the ruling of the Constitutional Court, as it provides clarity on this important principle of taxpayer confidentiality.
“This was the substantive aspect of the [declaration] we look in the courts first, ”said the Commissioner.
SARS, he emphasized, also respects the other conclusions contained in the Court’s ruling.
SARS also recognized Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga’s comments that the Office of the Public Protector “is an important cog in our constitutionalism” and that the effectiveness of the Office must be preserved for posterity.
Kieswetter, in this regard, accepted and endorsed the constitutional duty of all State organs, including SARS, to assist and promote the functions of the Office of the Public Protector.
“We are committed to contributing to the proper functioning of democracy,” he said.
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