Tax Ombud to launch extensive local information drive

Representatives of the Office of the Tax Ombud (OTO) will be in Polokwane from 24 to 28 June as part of an awareness campaign focused on the promotion of the institution’s free and impartial services.
Officials will be stationed at Mall of the North at entrance 1 as well as at the Game arcade where they will create an interactive experience for taxpayers, coaching them on how to lodge a complaint against SARS and to provide information on the services of the OTO in general.
The OTO will also hold interactive engagement sessions with both private and public sector institutions to promote the utilisation of services offered.
The OTO was established in October 2013 to enhance the tax administration system. Until then, there was no independent redress channel for taxpayers who had exhausted the normal SARS complaints mechanisms. The OTO is based on best international practices and is modelled on the Tax Ombud systems of Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
The OTO works specifically with taxpayers who have been unable to resolve a service, procedural or administrative complaint through the normal complaints management channels of SARS. It does its utmost to assist taxpayers to resolve their concerns speedily and amicably before it becomes necessary for them to consider entering into protracted court processes. In this way, the OTO facilitates access to justice in South Africa and contributes to a culture of respect for the tax system and for taxpayers’ rights.
The OTO plays a unique taxpayer complaints resolution role and aligns with the Public Protector. The Public Protector exists to ensure administrative justice by being a check on the exercise by government and its agencies of their authority, and on the other hand, the OTO exists to ensure administrative justice by being a check on the exercise of authority by SARS.
The Tax Ombud, Bernard Ngoepe is scheduled to engage in a dialogue with local role players in the industry as part of the launch of the tax season campaign. The date and venue of the event will be announced in due course.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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