Johannesburg - After successfully joining BRICS in February 2011, this year will see South Africa chair the grouping during its high-level meetings, conferences and summits which are planned for this year, according to tvbrics.com.
According to the media outlet, the chairmanship will continue its work on sustainable development in the areas of economy, environment, and social reform.
“The country has already held the BRICS chairmanship in 2018, at which time its work was positively acknowledged by the partners.
“BRICS foreign ministers, meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, expressed full support for South Africa to chair the bloc in 2023 and hold the XV summit,” added the outlet.
Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor said that South Africa will emphasise specific BRICS co-operation that is in one way or another consonant with the priorities of South Africa and Africa as a whole and aims to improve the world situation.
“BRICS high-level meetings are planned, as well as ministerial meetings and numerous other events,” Pandor said.
Meanwhile, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) said last year that it had been the 10th year the BRICS Tax Authorities had met and the first year in which regional and international organisations had participated in the BRICS conversation.
“The highlight of the Heads of Tax Authorities meeting was the endorsement to launch the first issue of the BRICS Tax Best Practices compilation, a collection of insightful administration case studies from BRICS Tax Authorities.”
“The case studies showcase some of the BRICS members’ best practices in the Co-operative Compliance Programme of CONFIA, the New Tax Debt Management Strategy, the Effective Use of AEOI Data–CRS Tool, Faceless Tax Administration, AIS and Updating of Returns, Smart Individual Income Tax (IIT) Reconciliation, Tax Awareness Month, Co-ordination of Tax and Customs Pricing for Imported Goods, as well as Taxpayer Compliance Evaluation and Monitoring,” said a Sars statement.
Sars also highlighted that South Africa will assume the chairmanship of BRICS at the beginning of 2023 and will subsequently host the BRICS Tax Meetings in 2023.
Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said international co-operation was crucial to enabling Sars to deliver on its mandate.
“Working with and through stakeholders to improve the tax system is implicit in our strategic direction. We endeavour to have effective and beneficial partnerships with all stakeholders, both local and international, in the tax ecosystem that deliver maximum benefits for the taxpayers and traders, the government and the public. We leverage each other’s strengths to resolve tax administration challenges and improve voluntary tax compliance,” said Kieswetter.
The Star