Johannesburg - EFF president Julius Malema is trying to settle his tax bill to avoid being barred from Parliament, the Sunday Times reported.
Malema had offered to pay R4 million plus properties already seized by the taxman worth about R4m to stop the final sequestration which could be ordered by a court on May 26.
“There are good Samaritans who are saying if you are getting an offer, we are ready to settle it,” he said
The newspaper reported that the expelled former leader of the African National Congress Youth League and head of the Economic Freedom Fighters had been repeatedly calling Ivan Pillay, acting SA Revenue Services (Sars) commissioner to settle his R16m bill.
If he is sequestrated he will be disqualified from Parliament if his party gains enough support in the May 7 elections.
Malema, who still faces criminal charges of fraud and money laundering, claimed Sars reached a settlement with him months ago but made a u-turn to sequestrate him for political reasons.
He said he accepted the debt of R16m so he could apply for a settlement, but the settlement application was turned down and Pillay was now ignoring his calls.
Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay said Pillay did not deal with settlement proposals and that Malema had been afforded many opportunities to regularise his tax affairs and had “consistently failed to do so”.
Sapa