One of the most frustrating tax issues for an individual to deal with is not getting credit for the employee’s tax that has been withheld from their salaries because of non-compliance by their employers. They are generally caught between their employer, who thinks the South African Revenue Service should fix the problem, and Sars, which thinks the employer should fix it. So says Carmen Westermeyer, who facilitated The Tax Faculty’s recent virtual discussion on persistent tax issues.
Read: Should companies defer their PAYE obligations? “If an individual finds [themself] in a situation where [their] employer is bankrupt or insolvent, they should request Sars to issue a bad debt adjustment in their return for the portion of PAYE that was not paid,” says Westermeyer. However, this still leaves the employee in the unpleasant situation where they thought all their taxes were paid but they now have to ‘pony up’ the sum.