Office of the Tax Ombud: What is it and what do they do?

he Office of the Tax Ombud just over five years old headed by Tax Ombud Judge Bernard Ngoepe who reports directly to the country’s Minister of Finance. The Tax Ombud mandate is to look at service-related, procedural or administrative issues that have arisen from the way the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has applied the tax act, or any of the other acts administered by the commissioner of SARS. These include includes the Income Tax Act, Customs and Excise Act, the Skills Development Levy and the Estate and Duty Act. Thandolwethu caught up with an Advocate from the Tax Ombud to find out more about what they do.