Administrative requirements for South African tax practitioners : a comparative analysis

Abstract

Revenue authorities around the globe have imposed regulations on the tax profession as tax practitioners play an important role in the administration of the tax systems. Regulating the tax profession will protect taxpayers from unscrupulous and unethical tax practitioners. South Africa took the first step in regulating tax practitioners by requiring tax practitioners to register with the South African Revenue Service. The South African Revenue Service, however, had no authority over the conduct of tax practitioners and the legislation had to be amended. The Tax Administration Act commenced in 2012 which required tax practitioners to register with a controlling body. The registration with a controlling body was the first phase of regulating the tax profession in South Africa. The second phase is to establish an independent regulating board for tax practitioners after the successful implementation of the first phase. To date no indication of the successful implementation of phase one has been published. The USA and Australia have successfully implemented regulations on the tax profession. Comparing these two countries with South Africa will provide a benchmark to determine if South Africa is in line with global regulations.