eNCA | Pauw tax allegations could land Zuma back in ConCourt: Experts
JOHANNESBURG – President Jacob Zuma could land up back in the constitutional court if allegations that he’s a tax delinquent are true.
That’s according to tax experts and constitutional law analysts following claims that Zuma owes millions in outstanding taxes.
The explosive allegations are contained in Jacque Pauw’s book, The President’s Keepers.
Pauw exposes an alleged plot by the president to quash a massive R63 million tax bill.
Zuma is no stranger in the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) and it would seem if any of these damning allegations are true, he could eventually return here to answer questions about his tax affairs.
Section 1 of the Constitution subjects citizens of the Republic to equality before the law, meaning every single law should apply to every single South African, including the country’s tax laws.
According to Pauw, the very reason Tom Moyane became SARS commissioner in 2015 was to shield the president from scrutiny by the Receiver of Revenue, something that worries tax experts and legal analysts, more so because SARS has said it will take legal action against Pauw and the Sunday Times.
Zweli Mabhoza of Priority Tax Solutions says: “I thought that SARS was going to celebrate. They have R51 billion shortfall they need to collect. It is also empowering them to say: ‘We can see this information’. And it’s up to the taxpayer to refute and say ‘In fact, I did pay tax on that’. It should not be up to SARS to protect the individual.”
Zuma is not the only president whose tax affairs are unclear.
US President Donald Trump’s resisted all calls to release his tax returns amid allegations of impropriety.
eNCA