Juju facing garnishee threat
JULIUS Malema could soon become the most famous South African with a garnishee order.
Even though the courts struck down the South African Revenue Service’s attempt to sequestrate the EFF leader, the taxman remains determined to go after him.
SARS is now considering applying for a preservation order — either through Malema’s employer or his bank — to recoup the outstanding R25.5-million. In a statement issued on Tuesday, SARS spokesman Luther Lebelo said the revenue service would “continue to take the necessary steps . . . to recover all tax debts”.
THE taxman wants to slap a monthly deduction order on Julius Malema’s parliamentary salary to ensure he pays tax arrears of R25.5-million.
The new strategy follows a tongue-lashing that lawyers for the South African Revenue Service received this week from Judge Gregory Wright in the High Court in Pretoria, who wanted to know during an application for Malema’s sequestration why other options to recover the funds had not been exhausted first. SARS withdrew the application for the final sequestration of the EFF leader.
Revenue service officials are due to meet Malema this week to discuss details of the planned salary deductions.
Malema earns R1.3-million a year as an MP.
“We are considering applying for a preservation order,” said a SARS official who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We may approach his employer or his bank to deduct from whatever funds are available.”
In a statement on Tuesday, SARS spokesman Luther Lebelo said the revenue service would “continue to take the necessary steps . . . to recover all tax debts”.
SARS this week rejected an assertion by Malema that he no longer owed it money for the SHRINKING SALARY: EFF leader Julius Malema years 2007 to 2011.
Malema also instructed his lawyer, Tumi Mokwena, to demand that the revenue service withdraw a statement it had made to the effect that a compromise agreement between the parties had fallen through.
Malema’s original tax bill amounted to R18.1-million. SARS recovered R3.2-million through the auctioning of his Sandton and Polokwane properties.
On the eve of his entry to parliament last year, Malema reached a compromise with SARS according to which he committed to pay R4-million to avoid his provisional sequestration being made final.
But SARS pulled out of the deal this year, saying Malema had lied about his source of funds and attempted to avoid paying donation tax. It says he owes a balance of R11.5-million and an additional R14-million for recent assessments.