“You can have a Lord, you can have a King, but the man to fear is the tax
collector.” This proverb about the tax collector was inscribed on several clay tablets
excavated at Lagash, in Sumer, the fertile area between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers in what is now known as Iraq. The clay tablets date back some six thousand
years (Adams 1999:2–3). Times have not really changed! Most taxpayers still fear
the tax man and for good reason
In terms of section 76(1) of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 (the “Act”), various
tax offences are stipulated, ranging from the mere late submission of a tax return
to an incorrect statement made on the return, which may or may not involve the
intention on the part of the taxpayer to evade taxes. The maximum penalty that may
be imposed in such circumstances is an amount equalling 200% of the tax properly
chargeable.