Been waiting anxiously for SARS to auto assess me so I can get this done.
On the one hand I keep thinking why bother and delay the process even more. On the other hand, my balance sheet reflecting an extra R2500.00 which I did not have will fill a gap here and there.
In the 2023 financial year I added 4 more panels at a cost of R9200.00, for which a 25% rebate can be had.
I have a friend in SARS that says as of yesterday, out of a potential 5 million auto assessments they had done about 800 000. Doing it in batches this year as last year when they tried to do all at once their systems crashed.
So when you receive your auto assessment you allegedly have to reject and then submit manually - they apparently have provided for a solar section.
Requirements:
Must have bought and installed panels in the 2023 fin year
Proof of purchase
Proof of payment
Valid COC
Proof that that it was connected to your house’s electrical system and working
Well, SARS != Eskom, so this includes the additional assumption that such an inter-governmental cooperation is a future possibility. Not ruling it out, just saying it will take work
Well, in the past there have been many cases where people with solar power were required to pay higher grid connection fees, or there was the threat that they would have to do so. This lead to many articles in many prominent (if not always trustworthy) publications suggesting that “Eskom” will tax “your solar”.
Now despite the huge holes in the plot (SARS does taxing, not Eskom, and it is the grid connection that costs the money, not the solar), I think the scenario is not completely impossible. Such information, should it be leaked in any manner, could be used for all sorts of mischief.
A leaked list of all the places where I can go … uuuh… shopping, for cheap solar panels… along with how much there is at that location, and how… uuuuh… peaceful and secluded the spot is, I mean who wants all sorts of questions about why I am there and what I am doing… that info is quite useful to the right person. Not wanting to be on such a list for the measly price of a few thousand makes sense to me, even if I don’t think it is likely that SARS and Eskom will get together in such a manner.
I mean, the SABC has been trying to get to the Multichoice subscriber list for decades…
I remember in the 90’s, all groundwater belonged to the government with the stroke of a pen.
Which in principle sounds OK, share the water with all citizens.
Except, it was from boreholes that only a few citizens paid for with after-tax money.
In other words, you drill it and we’ll take it off you.
You pay for it and we’ll share the spoils and take the credit for it.
Registration of a borehole became compulsory, but there was no subsidy, so I don’t think that the registration drive had much traction.
Anyway, I am also sceptical of getting on any government list for solar to claim a token amount.
I mean having the gall to tax sunlight. It seems just a step too far.
Except it has already been done, so don’t think it won’t get put forward…
England, France and Ireland had a window tax in the 18th and 19th centuries.
There’s no getting away from this. Sooner or later we’ll all be on some sort of solar list somewhere.
Let me be the first one then and take one for the team. I’ll report back as soon as I realize it was a bad idea…
Now that I think of it, I may already be on some sort of list. The past few years I have always been auto assessed but not this year. So either SARS is waiting to show me who’s boss in my daring to claim a solar rebate, or they think I’m earning an extra income somewhere.
It really is only a salary with no subsidies or fringe benefits, and 2 retirement annuity funds. No idea why I didn’t get selected for auto assessments this year.
many a ‘legally protected’ [read POPIA etc] database [containing personal information] from the state… would that include the tax man? … has been hacked and offered for sale on the dark web, so you have to assume that ALL your personal data - yes even your Whatsapp chats which are stored at Google WITHOUT the much advertised Whatsapp super encryption [hence Whatsapp can not be POPIA ‘proof’] - is relatively easy to get at - not to mention your solar panels via Google Earth [along with Russian ICBM silos ]
top secret Groetnis
edit:
re our personal info… just received this from Malwarebytes:
The safest computer ever … one that is back in its box in the garage on the bottom shelve, so that it does not fall on your head.
Moment you connect to the WWW, someone is going to wonder … soooo, what this person doing, just cause s[he] can, is bored and wants to learn a new craft because the WWW said so.
So finally this morning I got a message from SARS saying my verification case had been handed to an official to check for the necessary. This after having submitted on the 16th already.
From what I hear, I can now expect at least another 7 days to have everything verified and the next communication to be issued.
@Swartkat, what documents did you send to Sars, invoice and CoC ?
Sars has asked one of my clients for a letter from me ( installer), confirming that the solar panels were brought into use for the first time and date of installation
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