JOHANNESBURG – Kaizer Chiefs striker Gastón Leandro Sirino has landed in hot water with the South African Revenue Service (Sars), finding himself on the wrong side of the law after allegedly failing to pay over R6.1 million in personal income tax.
The news of Sirino's tax woes emerged when Sars applied for a default judgment against the Uruguayan national at the Johannesburg High Court.
According to the application papers seen by this publication, Sars claims that the former Mamelodi Sundowns player owes the revenue service over R5.9 million in unpaid personal income tax. This staggering amount has since ballooned to R6.1 million due to the imposition of R16,000 in administrative penalties and over R224,000 in interest.
Sars' decision to pursue a default judgment against Sirino came after he allegedly ignored a final letter of demand, which was dispatched to him from the Sars Alberton office on March 25th of this year.
Prior to seeking legal recourse, Sars had sent Sirino a final letter of demand on August 19th, urging him to settle the substantial debt or to enter into a payment plan with the receiver of revenue. The taxman warned that failure to comply could result in the auctioning off of his assets.
"According to the records of the South African Revenue Service, you have failed to pay your tax debt for one or more tax years and tax periods… you are requested to make full payment within 10 days from the date of this letter of demand," the letter stated.
Sars further advised Sirino that, should he be unable to pay the full amount, he had the option to apply within 10 business days from the date of issuance to arrange to pay the debt in instalments.
He was also informed that he could apply for a suspension of the debt if he intended to submit, or had already submitted, a formal dispute or compromise of a portion of the tax, where this would provide a higher return to the fund than liquidation, sequestration, or other collection measures.
The letter made it clear that Sars would take decisive action if Sirino failed to comply with its demands, including seeking a court order to attach and auction off his assets.
"Failure to make full payment or use the above remedies may result in the following actions and possibly others: Sars may appoint any third party who presently or in the future will owe you money or hold money for you to settle your tax debt with this money."
The letter continued, "A civil judgment is being entered against you, in which case a warrant of execution may be issued for the sheriff of the court to attach and sell your assets."
Sars also outlined potential avenues for relief, stating, "If you are a natural person, you may apply for a reduction of the amount to be paid to Sars based on your and your dependents’ basic living expenses…"
"If you are a non-natural person, you may apply for a reduction of the amount to be paid to Sars based on serious financial hardship," the papers read.
Despite numerous attempts to solicit a comment from Sirino, he remained unavailable.
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