SARS appoints new commissioner

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

SARS appoints new commissioner

SARS appoints new commissioner

The South African government has appointed Edward Kieswetter as the head of its tax authority. Kieswetter faces the task of restoring public confidence in the revenue service.

Kieswetter takes over from acting commissioner Mark Kingon, who has overseen the South African Revenue Service (SARS) for more than a year. As part of taking on the role, Kieswetter has resigned from the board of Shoprite, Africa’s biggest grocery chain.

An independent panel of policymakers selected Kieswetter for his formidable expertise and his track record as deputy SARS commissioner and chief tax officer. Others shortlisted for the role included Kingon himself, Nathaniel Mabetwa, Sunita Manik, Gene Ravele and Nazrien Kader.

SARS has not had a commissioner since tax chief Tom Moyane was suspended in March 2018. The new commissioner will have to rebuild trust in the service and help the government overcome the fiscal shortfall the country faces.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The partnership model was looking antiquated even before the UK chancellor’s expected tax raid on LLPs was revealed. An additional tax burden may finally kill it off
The US’s GILTI regime will not be forced upon American multinationals in foreign jurisdictions, Bloomberg has reported; in other news, Ropes & Gray hired two tax partners from Linklaters
APAs should provide a pragmatic means to agree to an arm's-length outcome for an Australian entity and for the ATO, the tax authority said
Overall revenues and average profit per partner also increased in the UK, the ‘big four’ firm revealed
Increasingly complex reporting requirements contributed towards the firm’s growth in tax, it said
Sector-specific business taxes, private equity tax treatment reform and changes to the taxation of non-residents are all on the cards for the UK, authors from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer predict
The UK’s Labour government has an unpopular prime minister, an unpopular chancellor and not a lot of good options as it prepares to deliver its autumn Budget
Awards
The firms picked up five major awards between them at a gala ceremony held at New York’s prestigious Metropolitan Club
The streaming company’s operating income was $400m below expectations following the dispute; in other news, the OECD has released updates for 25 TP country profiles
Software company Oracle has won the right to have its A$250m dispute with the ATO stayed, paving the way for a mutual agreement procedure
Gift this article