Godongwana hands SARS R17.1 billion more to find, and SARS says it will collect every rand
The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement lifts the 2026/27 gross tax revenue forecast to R2.144 trillion, and the revenue service says meeting it depends on growth, investment and jobs as much as on enforcement.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has raised the gross tax revenue forecast for 2026/27 by R17.1 billion, to R2.144 trillion, and the South African Revenue Service says it will take the target on.
The revision was announced in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament on Wednesday. SAnews (South African Government News Agency) reports that the upward revision is supported by stronger-than-expected collections from corporate income tax, dividends tax and Value-Added Tax.
The new forecast sits above the R2.01 trillion in net revenue SARS collected in the 2025/26 financial year, which the agency describes as historic.
SARS Commissioner Dr Johnstone Makhubu welcomed the revised estimate and said the revenue service accepts what it called a challenge.
“SARS accepts the challenge and remains committed to its mandate of collecting all revenues that are due, enhancing compliance and facilitating legitimate trade,” he said. The revenue service said the money would give government the resources to deliver public services, support infrastructure development and promote social and economic development.
In the year up to September, SARS collected some R992.2 billion in net revenue. That figure includes gross collections of R1.231 trillion and refund payments totalling R239.1 billion. Compliance interventions secured a preliminary R137.7 billion.
“The year-to-date outcome demonstrates the resilience of South Africa’s revenue system,” Makhubu said. But he tied the longer outlook to the wider economy rather than to enforcement alone.
“As reflected in the Minister’s speech, sustainable revenue growth ultimately depends on economic expansion, investment, job creation and broad-based compliance,” he said.
On the compliance figure, Makhubu said every rand recovered that way protects honest taxpayers. “Compliance is one of the most effective tools available to safeguard the integrity of the tax and customs ecosystem,” he said.
SARS also noted that the revenue outlook excludes the fuel levy relief Godongwana announced at the MTBPS. The revenue service said the relief reflects government’s efforts to help South Africans cope with rising fuel costs and the cost of living that comes with them.
Makhubu said the fiscal position demands disciplined execution across all organs of state, and a revenue authority that acts without fear, favour or prejudice. He said the Minister had challenged all 14 500 SARS employees to collect the resources needed, and thanked staff and compliant taxpayers and traders.
This report is drawn from the SAnews account of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement and SARS’s response, not from the MTBPS document itself. The source is SAnews (South African Government News Agency), at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/sars-welcomes-revised-revenue-target.
