Hon Speaker, may I just reflect on the unfortunate remarks made by the hon Dubazana with regard to the hon Harris. I think, if my memory serves me well, it was the hon Harris who made several good proposals with regard to stopping the steamrolling of the accepted draft resolutions in the committee. But, ultimately, we have to work together in this committee to see to it that we achieve the correct results.
Hon Speaker, the two Bills to be considered today are the Tax Laws Amendment Bill and Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill . The first one, the Tax Laws Amendment Bill, gives effect to the majority of the changes to the tax legislation announced by the Minister in the 2012 Budget Speech. As is normal for such a Bill, it also includes other unannounced changes. Whilst the other Bill, the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill will consolidate the common administrative provisions currently contained in a number of the tax Acts.
It will essentially eliminate duplications, remove redundant requirements and align existing disparate requirements in different tax Acts, ranging in age from four to 63-years-old. The Bill will therefore, intend to streamline tax administration in this country.
For those taxpayers who are complaint, this is important, the Bill should ensure better service and, of course, lower compliance costs. For the tax evaders, the Act should serve to discipline them whilst maintaining compliant taxpayers' confidence in the integrity of the tax system.
The net effect is a positive one for the business. By introducing greater certainty and simplifying tax collection processes, the Act will lower the administration costs for business, which is very important. This is also a move in the right direction given that the World Bank's latest Ease of Doing Business report shows that South African businesses are ranked 32 out of 185 economies with regard to the ease of paying taxes.
Therefore, the DA welcomes the following improvements in respect of the administration: a move to a single registration process and number across taxes to reduce red tape; clear requirements and timelines for issuing tax clearance certificates; and feedback on audit progress and findings to engage more fully with taxpayers, and, of course, to ensure that they understand the reasons for any adjustments.
Following on from the announcement by Minister Pravin Gordhan in his 2012 Budget Speech with regard to the appointment of a tax ombud, the DA is however concerned about the lack of progress in this regard.
The DA welcomes the key provisions in the new Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill to regulate tax practitioners by requiring that they belong to a professional body. This enables these professional bodies to gain a firmer grip on the conduct of tax practitioners.
Tax practitioners partaking in illegal activities will now run the risk of losing their licences. This essentially encourages compliance, not only to the law but to a minimum set of standards as determined by the professional body's code of conduct. Further clarification is required in respect of the disciplinary procedures to be followed in the case of noncompliant tax practitioners.
The DA advocates that tax practitioners acting in contravention of the profession body's code of conduct should be disciplined through that body's disciplinary processes. In addition, we welcome the amendment that transitional period should be provided to allow for tax practitioners not associated with a professional body to register with one.
Finally, tax practitioners must be professionalised in the true sense of the word. This should include the right for tax practitioners to extend legal professional privilege to their clients in instances where the practitioner is asked to give advice. This affords the tax practitioner the protection required in order to best serve the taxpayer in accordance with the law. I thank you, Mr Speaker. [Time expired.] [Applause.]