Mkhwebane, Sars to square off (again), this time in ConCourt

Public Protector (PP) Busisiwe Mkhwebane will on Thursday continue her battle to subpoena taxpayer information, which the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (CSARS) maintains must remain confidential. 

The PP has taken the argument to the Constitutional Court, after filing an application for direct leave to appeal. 

Former DA leader Mmusi Maimane laid a complaint against former president Jacob Zuma, after claims were made by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw in his book, The President’s Keepers. The book alleges that Zuma received significant monthly payments from Royal Security, prompting Mkhwebane to issue a subpoena in 2018 to get the former president’s tax information. 

But the subpoena goes against the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011, which states that taxpayer information must remain confidential. 

Mkhwebane argues that the matter is constitutional, because it requires the Public Protector Act, which appears in section 182 of the Constitution. 

She said the PP’s powers to subpoena form part of her duty to investigate, and cannot be limited by the Tax Administration Act. 

She also argues that the information she seeks as part of her investigation is in the sole preserve of Sars, which means there are grounds for her office to compel Sars to provide the information. 

The PP’s Constitutional Court appearance will also deal with personal costs ordered against her, after the High Court in Pretoria found she had acted improperly and in bad faith, and subsequently ordered to pay 15% of the costs of CSARS in her personal capacity. 

Mkhwebane said an affidavit, albeit late, was filed by Zuma, giving her permission to have his personal information.

However, Sars found that taxpayer confidentiality must be upheld, for the benefit of all taxpayers, as stipulated in the Act. 

The hearing is scheduled to take place at 10am.

(Compiled by Nica Richards)

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