If the SA Revenue Service (Sars) is worried that notorious tax dodger Dave King is the secret buyer of Scotland's biggest football team and that he has made his 78-year-old mom Agnes the sole owner of his assets, it's not saying.
This week a Scottish newspaper claimed King had emerged as the possible future owner of Rangers Football Club after reports that the club was effectively being run by bankers Lloyds TSB.
And Agnes, according to the Sunday Mail, is the second-biggest shareholder at Rangers.
With her ?1,5-million (about R19m) stake of 3 million ordinary shares, put into her name by her tycoon son, she could hold the key to any potential takeover of the Ibrox giants, the newspaper said.
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King is a defendant in two separate court cases with Sars - an action over his alleged failure to pay tax on fortunes made through share inflation schemes, and a criminal charge that he systematically hid his fortune from investigators.
King faces 322 separate charges including tax dodging, violating exchange control measures, money-laundering and extortion.
If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in jail.
When asked to comment on the Scottish newspapers' reports, Sars said it had received a number of media enquiries from journalists regarding King's tax affairs.
Spokesman Adrian Lackay refused to comment in detail.
"After consulting counsel on (recent) media enquiries, our view is that, in South Africa, the various litigation processes between Sars and the taxpayer are at sensitive stages before South African courts.
"In at least one instance judgment is pending - and we don't want to run the risk of commenting publicly, as such comment may be regarded as being sub judice.
"It must be understood that there a number of court engagements between the taxpayer, associated entities, Sars and other state institutions like the National Prosecuting Authority and the South African Reserve Bank," Lackay said.
King's South African attorney, Dale Cohen, could not comment on the Scottish newspapers' reports either.
In fact, he claimed to know nothing about them.
"I don't know what you are talking about," he said when contacted yesterday.
King's global assets have been frozen by the South African courts at the request of Sars.
Tax officials claim King owes them R1,2-billion, or just less than ?94m.
He is stuck in South Africa because authorities have confiscated his passport.
In a statement to the Sunday Mail, Sars said King had never shown respect for South Africa and its laws.
"His refusal to pay tax is evidence of that. It must be clear that Mr King is not the victim he purports to be. He is the person who lied in his tax returns, who failed to pay tax and attempted to dissipate assets while under investigation.
"Mr King attempts to erode the culture of growing tax compliance in South Africa."
The issue at hand, said Sars, is quite simple.
"Over the past years, King has failed to submit an income tax return or pay the requisite income tax due," Sars stated.
- This article was originally published on page 7 of Saturday Star on November 07, 2009
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