CAPE TOWN – The Nugent Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance by the SA Revenue Service (Sars) has recommended that suspended Sars Commissioner Tom Moyane be fired.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has received the interim report, is applying his mind to the contents of the report and the recommendations made by Commission Chair Justice Robert Nugent.
“It is imperative that SARS be urgently restored to sound management to arrest the ongoing loss of revenue and eroding tax compliance and to set SARS on a firm course of recovery. The acting Commissioner has taken admirable steps towards correcting the most immediate concerns but long-term and decisive decision making is feasible only in conditions of certainty and stability. Moreover, daily management at SARS remains in a state of undesirable uncertainty for so long as future management is unclear,” reads the report in part.
The interim report stated that a new Commissioner was needed without delay by Sars, which is not possible with Moyane remains in office, and that state of affairs needs now to be brought to an end.
“For those reasons, it is recommended:
- That the President take steps without delay to remove the current Commissioner of SARS from office.
- That the President thereupon takes steps without delay to appoint a new Commissioner of SARS.
“To inspire confidence in a new Commissioner of SARS the Commission further recommends that he or she be appointed through an open and transparent process that is subject to critical appraisal, but without compromising the urgency of the appointment, reads the report in part.
As part of this process, President Ramaphosa has furnished a copy of the interim report to suspended Moyane, according to a statement released by The Presidency. The President has invited Mr Moyane to make any submissions he may have on the interim report or its recommendations.