{"id":757637,"date":"2024-03-06T08:49:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-06T06:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=757637"},"modified":"2024-03-06T08:49:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-06T06:49:56","slug":"what-is-needed-to-increase-the-taxpayer-base-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/757637\/what-is-needed-to-increase-the-taxpayer-base-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"What is needed to increase the taxpayer base in 2024?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Colin Timmis, Country Manager, Xero South Africa<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was a lot of focus in the 2024 Budget Speech around specific tax changes, but it&#8217;s important to look at the bigger picture when it comes to expanding the taxpayer base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Put simply, not enough small businesses understand tax, and they\u2019re missing out on benefits individually and to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/xero.com\/za\/?utm_source=businesstech&amp;utm_medium=sponsoredcontent&amp;utm_campaign=za-advice-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Visit the Xero website for more information.<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The annual SARS tax statistics show despite overall tax revenue increasing from R1 287.7 billion in 2018\/19 to R1 686.7 billion in 2022\/23, a worryingly small number of businesses are reporting taxable income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, of the 1 million+ businesses that were assessed for company income tax, 67.1% of all CIT was paid by just 432 companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Closing the gap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Small businesses make up such a large percentage of the economy, yet the numbers registering for Small Business Corporation tax (SBC) and turnover tax remain very low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just 160,000 registered for SBC in 2022\/23 and this figure has increased very little in the last few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a huge, missed opportunity for smaller businesses who aren\u2019t aware of the benefits like paying less tax through SBC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another area that could boost tax growth is targeting those within the PAYE and VAT tax band specifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There needs to be greater education on the different types of tax and an understanding of how they can benefit small business owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Building the taxpayer base by supporting small businesses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To continue building the taxpayer base, we need to help businesses use the right technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our research shows 64% of small businesses want government investment in digital skills and innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the government can encourage more small businesses to use technology to manage their finances, it will boost tax compliance and create healthier businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More could be done to enhance the support system for small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SARS is one element, but other government departments and organisations can all play a part in supporting small businesses &#8211; whether it\u2019s providing education and training, connecting them with a network, or simply paying them on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The role of accountants should not be understated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are the ones who will help close the tax gap and educate businesses about which tax options are right for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We should be encouraging every business to work with an accountant or bookkeeper to help them understand what\u2019s going on in their business and make informed decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to make starting a business more appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tax breaks are good, but they only help established businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There could be more government support for small businesses when they\u2019re just starting and greater incentives to encourage entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/xero.com\/za\/?utm_source=businesstech&amp;utm_medium=sponsoredcontent&amp;utm_campaign=za-advice-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>For more information about how Xero can help small businesses stay on top of their numbers, visit the Xero website.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Expanding the taxpayer base hinges on educating small businesses about tax benefits, technology, and incentives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":757641,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[15424],"class_list":["post-757637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-xero"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=757637"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":757807,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/757637\/revisions\/757807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/757641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=757637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=757637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=757637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}