“I promise you will receive a refund from SARS if we submit your tax return!” That sounds too good to be true. As with all things in life, it probably is.

SARS has issued a media release to taxpayers to exercise caution should any “tax advisor” promise you something as bold as this.

This is as a result of an increase in fraud cases regarding individual income tax return submissions, where “tax advisors” submit revised income tax returns on behalf of individuals, claiming fraudulent deductions or declaring decreased income streams.

RSM Betty & Dickson does not conduct business in this manner. We send out information requests to all our individual clients, requesting that they provide us with the relevant supporting documents in order for us to calculate their tax liability/refund and to complete their tax return.

We send the tax return to each individual for their signature as it is ultimately each individual’s responsibility to ensure all information is complete and correct before it is submitted to SARS.

We want to warn all individuals to be careful if a “tax advisor” promises you that you will receive a refund. This can only be determined once a proper tax calculation has been performed.

We also want to provide you with the comfort that the tax partners of RSM South Africa are registered as tax practitioners with SARS and are members of SAICA (South African Institute of Charted Accountants) and no tax return is submitted without their approval.

As the 2013 filing season closes on 31 January 2014 for all individual provisional taxpayers, we want to urge individuals to be very cautious and not to underestimate the importance of engaging a reputable tax advisor to assist with your tax compliance affairs.

Engela Crocker

Tax Manager, Johannesburg