As we enter the post-Covid phase, governments will be forced to adopt pro-growth tax strategies while at the same time working feverishly to recover as much revenue as possible.

The good news is that as of Wednesday 25th May, everything you earn is yours to keep. The bad news is that up until Wednesday, you have been working for the government - and you spent five more days as a slave to government than in 2015. Every year the Free Market Foundation meaures how many days it takes to discharge South Africans' "debt" to government - in other words, how many days you must work to pay off the government's share of GDP. 

The capture of the state by the Guptas and others is an ever-present danger in SA. A new book called Rogue: The inside story of SARS's elite crime busting unit details the extent to which dark forces have taken over key pillars of the state apparatus. 

Is there a better tax system than the current monstrosity? Stephen Meintjies and Michael Jacobs put forward a bold alternative in their newly published book Our Land Our Rent Our Jobs: look at the high growth economies such as Singapore and Hong Kong and follow their lead by imposing a "resource rental" on land.

The resignation of SARS' controversial head of investigations, Johann van Loggerenberg, could see several tax cases he was investigating come under review. This could be good news for Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and other alleged wrong-doers.

SA Revenue Service (SARS) warns taxpayers in a new series of TV advertisements that "We are closing in on you." That's a far cry from the "SARS thanks you" ads of a year ago. High taxes have resulted in 20% of fuel and 45% of cigarettes in SA being smuggled. The new ads are counter-productive, writes Loane Sharp.

Expected amendments to tax on retirement savings due to come into effect in March next year are likely to be delayed, possibly by a year. The retirement industry is less than happy with the delays, which are reportedly caused by trade union concerns over social security, according to Personal Finance.

A recent judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeals sets out rules for a SARS audit. This is based on a case dating back more than a decade when SARS was found to have overreached itself in dealing with a taxpayer.

An amendment to the Income Tax Act imposes a 15% withholding tax on cross-border services rendered in South Africa, writes Graeme Palmer of Garlicke Bousfield.