TIME

 TOPIC

SPEAKER

8:00-8:10

WELCOME

Pieter Faber /Gigi Nyanin

(SAICA Senior Executive: Tax)/

(SAICA Project Director: Tax Publications and Thought Leadership)

8:10-8:20

INTRODUCTION

Freeman Nomvalo

(SAICA CEO)

SESSION 1

GENERAL:

This session will set the scene as to how taxpayer rights are catered for in the legal system, with a focus on tax, during a time of crisis.

8:20-8:40

Paper 1 – The rule of law in a tax system when there is a disaster.

Questions such as whether, in a time of disaster, there is a clash between current tax provisions and the principle of fairness (as well as other rule of law principles) will be discussed.

Advocate Julia Boltar

8:40-9:00

Q&A session

Panel: Adv Boltar, SARS (Franz Tomasek), OTO, Patricia Williams

9:00-9:10

BREAK (10 mins)

SESSION 2

TAXPAYER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES WHEN THEY HAVE A DISASTER:

This session will focus on taxpayers’ rights and remedies in a time of disaster (eg. fires, lost documents, IT failures, crime (identity theft), pandemics) and what SARS’ expectation is of them during this time.

  9:10-9:30

Paper 2 – Taxpayers right to action and redress against the State during a crisis

Patricia Williams

(Bowmans: Tax Partner)

  9:30-9:50

Paper 3 – Legal Professional Privilege (LPP) – taxpayers right to fully disclose disputed facts in confidence to advisors during a time of a disaster?

Michael Honiball

(Werksmans: Partner)

  9:50-10:35

Q&A session

Panel: All speakers  +  SARS (Mark Kingon)  + NTC (David Warneke) + Piet Nel

10:35-11:05

PRACTICAL TIPS & REMEDIES  

Adv Louw + Patricia Williams + Piet Nel + SARS (Mark Kingon)

11:05-11:35

LUNCH (30 mins)

SESSION 3

TAXPAYER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES WHEN SARS HAS A DISASTER

This session will focus on taxpayer rights and remedies in a time when SARS experiences a disaster (SARS IT failures, pandemic, crime (refund hijack)) and what are taxpayers’ responsibilities during this time.

11:35-11:55

Paper 4 –   Lessons learnt during a time of a disaster – SARS’ perspective.

(What worked and what didn’t work and would have been done better?)

SARS Commissioner

11:55-12:15

Paper 5 –  Taxpayers Rights Matter – ensuring fairness during COVID times and beyond

Prof. Thabo Legwaila

(CEO: Office of the Tax Ombud)

12:15-13:00

Q&A session

All speakers + Patricia Williams + NTC (Muneer Hassan)

13:00-13:45

PRACTICAL TIPS & REMEDIES  

SARS (Mark Kingon) + Patricia Williams + NTC (Muneer Hassan)

13:45-13:55

BREAK (10 mins)

SESSION 4

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS and TAXPAYER SERVICE CHARTERS

This session will deal with how international organisations have dealt with disasters: what worked, what didn’t and what needs to still be done?

It will also touch on taxpayers’ rights and Service Charters – do they protect the rights of taxpayers, and if not, what are the alternatives?

13:55-14:35

PANEL DISCUSSION

Ireland

Dr Brian Keegan

(Chartered Accountants Ireland: Director: Public Policy & Tax)

UK

Liesl Fichardt

(Partner: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, UK)

OECD

Peter Green

(Head: Forum on Tax Administration Secretariat: OECD)

African countries

Logan Wort

(CEO: African Tax Administration Forum(ATAF))

Lazelle Terblanche

(Chairperson: Africa Industry Tax Association)

USA

Nina Olson

(Executive Director: Center for Taxpayer Rights in the USA)

14:35-15:00

Q&A session

15:00-15:10

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