Unicus tax solutions

 One of Unicus Tax Specialists SA’s niche tax practice areas is something called “tax dispute resolution”. Tax dispute resolution is the process of challenging SARS’ assessments and decisions. Stated differently, if SARS has done something that one is  not happy with, the experts  will help to determine whether there is  a fighting chance to undo whatever it is SARS has done and, if so, help fight that fight.

The  team of experts comprise individuals with backgrounds in law, accounting, auditing, business and SARS, but  focus exclusively on tax.  Unicus doesn’t do any auditing or accounting work, nor get involved in areas of law other than tax law. Unicus Tax has an impeccable track record when it comes to tax dispute resolution and has always been able to resolve tax disputes to the satisfaction of its  clients. The business has also  saved clients literally hundreds of millions of rands in taxes and penalties.

One of the main reasons for this excellent track record is  key attributes such as:

• Tenacity
• Pragmatists
• Strategists
• Realists

Unicus is  not interested in “flogging dead horses”, and whilst it takes a lot for experts to declare your case “dead” (experts have salvaged many ostensibly “dead” cases), you will be told  if there is nothing that can be done. These experts chase results and will not  take a hopeless case and run the risk of jeopardising their track record. The  fees charged are a consequence of the maintained success rate, not a result of hours upon hours thrown after a lost cause.

Unicus Tax is transparent about fees and being business minded,  one of the most important considerations is the concept of “cost vs benefit”. Unicus Tax is  the first to tell you that a case won’t be economical to pursue.

Most disputes with SARS will meet resistance somewhere in the process. If it didn’t, Unicus Tax  wouldn’t be doing it because then, quite frankly, it would be boring. Unicus Tax expects resistance, plans for it and builds a strategy based on the likely pushback.

Being strategic in a dispute means you need to be at least two steps ahead, and to be ahead in the context of a legislative framework that arguably largely benefits the revenue authority is not easy. Whilst it requires many skills, probably the foremost important one is being attuned to the mindset of the opposition. Unicus Tax takes great care in figuring out exactly what it is the opposition has done and why.  After all, you can’t change someone’s mind if you don’t understand what they were thinking and why.

Changing SARS’s mind about something often takes time  SARS is a large and very important organisation. Knowing when to keep pushing, and how to keep pushing, is essential to achieving good results. Bowing out after the first sight of rejection is not something Unicus Tax does.

With the founder having written the book on tax dispute resolution (literally) titled: Practical Guide to Handling Tax Disputes, Unicus Tax is  exceptionally well-placed to deal with your tax dispute.

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