In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court has given parliament 24 months to amend tax legislation, and has ordered Sars to make a new decision on access to former president Jacob Zuma’s tax records.
The Constitutional Court has ruled that sections of the Promotion to Access of Information Act (Paia) and the Tax Administration Act, which completely disallow access to a third party’s tax records, are invalid.
The court ruled that the law should allow for tax records to be accessed in limited circumstances and in the public interest
The case is a result of a request by the Financial Mail and the Amabhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism to access former president Jacob Zuma’s tax records. While the judgment has personal implications for Zuma, the journalist Warren Thompson can now go back to the SA Revenue Service (Sars) to request to view the record of Zuma’s taxes.
The decision means that both pieces of legislation must now be amended to allow for access to tax records in the public interest.
In a majority judgment penned and delivered by Justice Jody Kollapen, the court agreed that Sections 35 and 36 of Paia and sections 67 and 69 of the Tax Administration Act are in conflict with section 32 of the Constitution.
Section 32 of the Constitution says that “everyone has the right of access to: (a) any information held by the state; and (b)…