Taxpayers’ attitudes towards tax amnesties and compliance in South Africa: an exploratory study

Abstract

South Africa has seen tremendous changes since 1994, from the introduction of a new government to structural changes in tax administration. One of the challenges the government faced in the new democracy was the restructuring of the tax system. Multiple tax amnesty programmes were thus introduced between 1995 and 2010 to provide immunity for limited periods to citizens and small businesses for past non-compliance without being subjected to additional tax, interest, penalties or prosecution. This paper presents the results of a survey on the attitudes of taxpayers towards tax compliance and tax amnesties in South Africa. The findings from this study indicate that taxpayers are of the view that the offering of multiple tax amnesties might not generate additional revenue, as non-compliant taxpayers will continue to evade taxation in anticipation of additional future amnesties.

Keywords:

• South Africa
• Tax Amnesties
• SMMEs
• Tax Compliance
• Tax Offences
• Tax Enforcement
• Tax Evasion
• Tax Avoidance
• Tax Administration
• Katz Commission

Acknowledgements

It is with immense gratitude that the authors acknowledge the late Prof. Penny Singh of the Durban University of Technology for her invaluable contribution to this article. Her untimely passing in 2014 has left a great void at DUT. Her presence, guidance and valuable advice are missed by all who have had the opportunity of working with her.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.