Tom Moyane (born 31 January 1953) is a South African development

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and former commissioner of the

South African Revenue Service The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the revenue service of the South African government. It administers the country's tax system and customs service, and enforces compliance with related legislation. It is governed by the SARS Act 34 of ...

(SARS).

Education and exile

After obtaining a BSc in Economics from the

Eduardo Mondlane University The Eduardo Mondlane University ( pt, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane; UEM) is the oldest and largest university in Mozambique. The UEM is located in Maputo and has about 40,000 students enrolled. History The institution was set up as a center for ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, he served as national commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services and chief executive of the Government Printing Works. He had also been an advisor to the State Information Technology Agency. While in exile from South Africa during

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

he worked for government departments in Mozambique and

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

Career

SARS Commissioner

Moyane was appointed chief tax collector in September 2014. During his tenure, Moyane had been heavily criticised for his financial management of SARS and his treatment of a controversial investigation that saw the departure of 55 senior staff and managers from the organisation. The 2017 book ''

The President's Keepers ''The President's Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and out of Prison'' a 2017 book by Jacques Pauw, a South African investigative journalist, about allegedly corrupt and compromised power networks in the South African government under Presi ...

'' claimed that Moyane's predecessor had begged South African President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

to submit tax returns before Zuma appointed Moyane, and described Moyane as a crony of Zuma. SARS rejected the allegations in the book, threatened to sue its author and lay criminal charges on the disclosure of confidential taxpayer information. These allegations and investigations led to his suspension on 19 March 2018 by South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa, who cited a need to "restore the credibility of SARS without delay" after Moyane's leadership compromised the organisational and financial position of SARS. The suspension was enacted after Moyane had refused to step down voluntarily. He was eventually fired on 1 November 2018 by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the recommendation of the SARS commission of inquiry's chair, retired judge Robert Nugent. After his firing Moyane launched a "marathon" legal battle to get his job back. After the North Gauteng High court on 11 December upheld his dismissal, the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

dismissed Moyane's plea on 4 February as well, arguing that it "bears no reasonable prospect for success". On January 4, 2022, Part 1 of the

Zondo Commission The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ...

Report on state capture was published. The report recommended that Moyane be charged with perjury for lying and providing false information to parliament in relation to his activities at SARS.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moyane, Tom Living people 21st-century South African economists 1953 births 20th-century South African economists