The South African Communist Party (SACP) has said that the matter between its General Secretary, Solly Mapaila, and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is an administrative one and raised concerns over media interest in the case.

The party laid out its view in a statement released this week.

“SACP has taken notice of certain public claims made by...news outlets regarding General Secretary Comrade Solly Mapaila and an alleged debt he owes to the South African Revenue Service,” the party said, adding that the statement “serves as our response to this developing story.”

According to the SACP, “there is an ongoing engagement between Comrade Solly Mapaila and SARS regarding tax matters” that stems from a reassessment of “the taxpayer’s 2021 tax returns in 2022”. The party says the dialogue “commenced in 2022 and pertains to an erroneous capture following a reassessment by SARS of Comrade Mapaila’s tax returns”, which “has resulted in the appearance of a debt that is being disputed and, therefore, subject to correction through mutual discussion”.

The party emphasised that the issue is private and confined to the statutory process. “It is important to note that the nature of this tax issue is a matter between the taxpayer and the tax authority, and no other entity is involved.” It also said that matter becoming public “is a cause for concern.”

The SACP continued saying that it “views this matter as a tax matter between a taxpayer and the national tax authority and does not consider it a political matter”. It further noted that the party “does not allege any political interference by any political role player and will address it strictly as a tax matter”.