South Africa has already implemented three tax–amnesty programmes: the Second Small
Business Tax Amnesty 10 of 2006, the Exchange Control Amnesty Act 12 of 2003 and the Tax
Amnesty Act 19 of 1995. In the 2010 budget announcement the Minister of Finance, Mr. Pravin
Gordan, announced that there will be another chance for taxpayers to get their tax affairs in
order with the Voluntary Disclosure Programme. The main goal of this study is to determine
whether the Voluntary Disclosure Programme will prove to be effective or not. The research
method utilised is based on an advanced literature study.
The secondary goals are as follows:
* to obtain a thorough knowledge regarding the three previous tax–amnesties that was
implemented in South Africa. A prediction as to the success of the Voluntary Disclosure
Programme can be made when using the total number of applications received and the
amount of revenue that was received by the previous amnesties, as a measure of
success;
* to obtain a thorough knowledge of other countries' amnesty–programs, including the
following: Australia, Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom. Their experience and
successes regarding their amnesty–programs will be used to predict the success of the
Voluntary Disclosure Programme; an
* to determine whether the Voluntary Disclosure Programme can be declared as fair.
This study indicated that the Voluntary Disclosure Programme may not be effective and that it
may have a negative impact on the tax compliance of taxpayers. A recommendation from this
study is that the government should win the trust of taxpayers, which will lead to an automatic
improvement in tax compliance. This study indicated that the tax amnesty programs should not
be used as a mechanism to enhance tax compliance. An issue that needs further exploration is
the impact that the Voluntary Disclosure Programme will have in the long–term on tax
compliance in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tax))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/4568 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Basson, Louwrens Lewis |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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