How much money the Guptas say they really earn
The latest from the eponymous Gupta leaks shows exactly how much the controversial brothers declared in taxable income between 2011 and 2013.
Investigations by amaBhungane and the Daily Maverick’s Scorpio show that for three years – 2011, 2012 and 2013 – the Guptas submitted to SARS that they were taking home less than R1 million in personal income annually.
- In 2011, Rajesh Gupta declared R965,000 in taxable income, with R315,670 going to PAYE.
- In 2012, Ajay Gupta declared R935,000, of which R299,196 was taxed.
- In 2013, Atul Gupta declared R1,087,616, of which R376,186 went to PAYE.
Tax experts, speaking to the investigative journalists, said that it was incredibly difficult to align these figures with the Guptas’ widely reported lavish lifestyle – which includes private jets, a R16 million property in Saxonwold and a R331 million mansion in Dubai, as well as the infamous R30 million 2013 wedding.
In 2016, Atul Gupta was ranked as the 7th richest black businessman on the Sunday Times Rich List.
Previous leaks from the Gupta email trove showed that the wedding was declared as a business expense, and other emails have indicated that this was common practice for the family.
However, the tax experts said that this in itself was highly irregular, and questioned why the family had not been flagged by SARS.
“Given the volume of highly public information available about the Guptas, red flags should have been raised at SARS about the amounts they were declaring in taxable income,” they said.
You can read the full report on amaBhungane.
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