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The South Gauteng High Court upheld an appeal in a judgment against the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on 27 August 2024, in the matter of TALT vs The Commissioner for The South African Revenue Services.

Anyone dealing with SARS, South African tax, or who wants to know the temperature of the South African tax environment would find this well-written judgment useful.

It is not clear whether Commissioner Edward Kieswetter is concerned about his losing streak against taxpayers in the court systems. There has been an unprecedented loss ratio recently, and it is concerning that the Constitutional Court has had to step in, which was unthinkable a couple of years ago.

The Commissioner lost the Coronation Investment Management SA (Pty) Limited v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service matter, which many tax specialists and academics feel reflects a healthy tax system, and where aggressive tax planning must be challenged. It will be interesting to see whether National Treasury steps in to change the law after the Coronation case.

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