Ramaphosa praises Kieswetter for SARS turnaround

Simon Nare

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) had become a more trusted and capable institution after its years-long recovery from the state capture era, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

Addressing staff at the SARS’s National Command Centre, Ramaphosa praised outgoing commissioner Edward Kieswetter for helping restore its credibility.

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He said stronger tax administration had improved investor sentiment and recent gains in the country’s fiscal and regulatory standing.

“When S&P issued our first sovereign credit rating upgrade in nearly two decades late last year, amongst the factors cited was strong value-added tax and corporate income tax receipts.

“SARS was also instrumental in the work of the multi-disciplinary team whose efforts saw South Africa exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October last year,” said Ramaphosa.

He said the progress