Edward Kieswetter gets multi-million rand salary

South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter was paid R11.71 million for his services in the 2023/24 financial year – an 83.4% increase from the year before. 

Kieswetter led the reconstruction of SARS following years of state capture, which hollowed out the institution and limited its enforcement capability. 

In the 2000s, SARS was among the most respected government institutions and led the fight against the growing illicit trade of goods in South Africa. 

The revenue service’s battle against illicit trade reveals how effective the institution once was and how far it has declined since. 

In the early 2000s, SARS kept the illicit cigarette trade below 10% of the total market and appeared to be winning the battle. 

It had dedicated enforcement units within the revenue service that regularly shut down illegal manufacturers and ensured effective taxation of the industry. 

During the late Pravin Gordhan’s tenure as Commissioner from 1999 to 2009, SARS was an extremely efficient institution and was well set up for the future. 

Gordhan left SARS in 2009 to become Finance Minister in the new government led by President Jacob Zuma. 

“The contribution of Pravin Gordhan may never be truly understood and appreciated by millions of South Africans,” Kieswetter said in 2009. 

Gordhan championed policies and reforms that strengthened SARS, transforming it into a globally respected revenue service. 

SARS was central to South Africa’s improving financial health during this time, enabling the government to fund the creation of a capable democratic state. 

Crucially, Gordhan also created a succession plan, ensuring individuals such as Kieswetter and others rose quickly through the ranks and became his deputy commissioners to gain experience in running the institution. 

However, all of this fell apart when Gordhan left to become Finance Minister, with state capture hollowing out the institution and many of his skilled lieutenants leaving for private sector jobs. 

SARS enforcement capacity was severely limited, resulting in illicit cigarette consumption surging to 30% of the total market in South Africa. The introduction of bans on the sale of cigarettes during the Covid-19 lockdowns boosted this. 

The illicit trade flourished under these bans, growing its market share to 60%. It has since moderated to 58% at the end of 2023. 

Kieswetter rejoined SARS as its Commissioner in 2019 after coming out of retirement and a period as CEO of the Alexander Forbes Group. 

He was charged with using his extensive experience at the institution under Gordhan to turn it around and enhance its enforcement capacity. 

In SARS’ 2019/20 annual report, Kieswetter said the impact of state capture on the institution was even worse than previously thought. 

The Report on Tax Administration and Governance by the Nugent Commission revealed that the institution had effectively been gutted by Zuma and his acolytes. 

“The damage caused by state capture in general cannot be underestimated, and SARS was an unfortunate casualty in this process,” Kieswetter said. 

Kieswetter began the long process of rebuilding SARS into the globally respected institution it once was, with a particular focus on improving staff morale. 

The Commissioner and his executive team met with employees to understand their concerns and how they could be addressed while also ensuring the rebuilding of his own leadership team was very public and visible. 

“These efforts allow us the space to move forward by laying the necessary foundation for change and enabling us to carry out our mandate.” 

Kieswetter’s efforts have borne fruit, with the revenue service collecting a record R1.7 trillion in tax revenue in the 2023/24 financial year. 

This has been done at a time of lacklustre economic growth, which is typically closely correlated to tax revenue growth. 

SARS has also begun clamping down on the illicit trade, with Kieswetter saying a dedicated team has already been created to deal with the problem 

This team has dealt with around 1,230 cases of illicit trade and raised almost R80 billion in tax assessments, of which R36 billion has already been collected. 

The team has raised R20 billion in assessments from the illicit tobacco trade alone, with around 100 cases currently underway and R4 billion already collected. 

“We have fundamentally rebuilt SARS into a SMART Modern SARS with unquestionable integrity that could be trusted and admired after its capture during 2014-2018,” Kieswetter said in his latest Commissioner’s Overview. 

“Our commitment to building a SMART Modern SARS is bearing fruit, notwithstanding an increasingly complex environment, tough economic challenges, a proliferation of tax and customs crime, and significant budgetary constraints.” 

Kieswetter has been financially rewarded for his efforts to rebuild SARS, earning R37.27 million for his five years at the institution. 

His salary increased sharply in the past financial year, rising by 83.4% to R11.71 million. The graph below shows his salary during his five-year tenure at SARS.