SA Institution of the Year runners-up: The Constitutional Court and SA Revenue Service

Constitutional Court

When the Minister of Home Affairs was instructed to pay a portion of the legal costs in a case involving the legal rights of undocumented immigrants, the Constitutional Court made a clear statement that it was tired of dealing with errant politicians and government officials.

The court’s 2023 judgments have affirmed both the rights of immigrants and the rights of women in divorce. It also made a significant ruling on the right of access to information and the press in a case involving Jacob Zuma’s tax returns.

The Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 2 March 2012. (Photo: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Nicolene Olckers)

South African Revenue Service

Though few enjoy paying taxes, the reality is that without the bumper performance of the SA Revenue Service team, the government deficit that was presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in November would have been far larger.

PwC’s recent Taxing Times Survey 2023 reflects that a combined 53% of respondents “agreed” and “strongly agreed” that they received quality service from the revenue service (a 14% improvement from last year).

Read more in Daily Maverick: People of the Year 2023: The awesome, awful and truly evil

To cut down on the number of people who are obliged to file yearly income tax returns, the SA Revenue Service has expanded the implementation of automated assessments for personal income taxpayers.

Over the past year, the SA Revenue Service has also appointed three deputy commissioners and more staff and increased its use of technology to improve services. – DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R29.