SARS Confirms That R35 Billion Withdrawn From 2-Pot Retirement System

• The South African Revenue Services has confirmed that R35 billion has been withdrawn from the two-pot retirement system
• It noted that it received over two million applications for tax directives and over 160,000 applications were rejected
• It also noted that almost 30,000 taxpayers who initiated the process changed their minds

Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and heritage in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

JOHANNESBURG — The South African Revenue Services confirmed that over two billion people had made two-pot system withdrawals.

SARS releases 2-pot system figures

SARS published a media release updating the figures for the tax incentives it received for the two-pot retirement system. It noted that 2,153,942 applications were received, and 1,914,306 applications were approved, for a total of R35,052,572,876.02.

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SARS provides breakdown

According to SARS, 169,509 applications were declined. The reasons include wrong identification numbers, wrong tax numbers and system failures by fund management entities. It added that 41,523 directives were declined because of insufficient funds, and more than 28,000 taxpayers changed their minds and cancelled their applications.

SARS also noted that more than 53,000 users used its dedicated WhatsApp calculator, which assists users in determining how much they would receive for a two-pot retirement system.

Complaints of tax burden

South Africans were concerned that the two-pot retirement system had a heavy tax burden. Briefly News reported that one particular TikTok user showed that her maximum retirement withdrawal would be taxed under R8,500. A financial expert weighed the pros and cons of making an early withdrawal instead of one at retirement.

Enoch Godongwana warns against premature withdrawals

In a related article about the two-pot funds system, Briefly News reported that the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, warned South Africans against making early withdrawals.

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He urged South Africans to consider making withdrawals prematurely, but many online slammed him and accused him of trying to police their money.

Source: Briefly News