Daniel Baines’s new book “How to Get a SARS Refund” provides a straight forward approach to addressing the questions and concerns of first time and novice taxpayers. If you have ever wondered what the first steps were when embarking on your personal ‘E-filing’ journey towards a tax refund, then this book will leave you far more comfortable.
Baines is a successful tax practitioner with an LLB and MCom (Taxation) from Rhodes University and a frequent expert contributor to a column on tax in The EP Herald.
“How to Get a SARS Refund” provides simple examples for each section from ‘Capital Gains Tax’ though to ‘Medical Aid Credits’ that are accessible to any reader.
“The aim of the book is to enable taxpayers to gain a thorough understanding of South Africa’s individual tax laws and to use this knowledge to their full advantage to reduce their tax liability and increase the likelihood of receiving a refund from SARS”
Aimed mainly at salaried individuals, chapters provide the reader with relevant examples walking you through all the basic areas of applicable tax rebates. The book does include advice and examples to assist commission earners as well, but does stop short of going into more complex taxation situations.
The author demonstrates expert knowledge in the field, but falls short in some areas of fleshing out the book with more detail and support in pitfalls of uncertainty that novice taxpayers are faced with. In no way is this a detractor, but perhaps an opportunity missed to help answer the awkward questions often asked by those new and old to paying tax and navigating the hope of a rebate.
Overall Daniel provides a great starter guide for those unsure of the SARS taxation environment and new to ‘E-filing’. Readers looking for more in-depth knowledge on specific tax problems however would do best to consult an independent tax advisor to avoid any potential non-compliance.
“How to get a SARS Refund” by Daniel Baines is published by Penguin Random House South Africa at an RRP of R144,00 .
ISBN 978 1 77609 310 6 (print)
ISBN 978 77609 311 3 (ePub)
