Johannesburg – Trevor Noah’s mother has found herself in the crosshairs of the SA Revenue Service (Sars) over unpaid taxes.
According to City Press, the Daily Show host’s mother Patricia Noah is allegedly $1.4 million in the red and Sars has reportedly issued a final letter of demand to the businesswoman in an attempt to recover the outstanding funds.
Patricia who runs the property business PN Noah Estates is in danger of having some of her assets attached and sold by Sars to offset the debt if she is unable to honour the payment within the period stipulated by Sars.
The letter in part reads: “According to the records of the South African Revenue Service, you have failed to pay your tax debt for one or more tax years and tax periods.”
“You may, within 10 business days from the date of this letter of demand, apply for any of the following remedies: payment instalments where you are unable to pay the full amount; suspension of the debt where you intend to submit or have submitted a formal dispute; compromise of a portion of the tax where this will provide a higher return to the fiscus than liquidation, sequestration or other collection measures,” City Press said.
Entrepreneurs are often faced with so many daily challenges that tax compliance is prioritised as much as it should be and the lack of resources often leads to business owners defaulting on their tax commitments as deadlines come and go.
Salaried employees have their tax deducted by their employers from their remunerations and paid over to Sars by their employers, thus fulfilling their tax obligations.
Those who are self-employed receive their income untaxed before it makes its way into their bank accounts, placing the onus on them to pay Sars.
Failing to honour tax commitments can lead to entrepreneurs finding themselves in the precarious position Patricia Noah finds herself in.
Quentin Daniel, head of finance at short-term business funding provider Lulalend, provides some tips on how SMEs can ensure they meet their tax obligations.
