Profligate television icon and social butterfly Khanyi Mbau has been hit with a multi-million-rand tax bill.
Africa Daily can exclusively reveal that Mbau has been slapped with a staggering R6.8 million tax bill.
The whopping tax amount stems from Mbau’s alleged failure to pay her personal income tax.
News of Mbau’s tax woes became known after the taxman applied for a default judgment against her at the Johannesburg High Court last week.
According to the default judgment, which Africa Daily has seen, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) says Mbau, who shot her meteoric way to fame when she played Dobsie in the multilingual SABC2 soapie Muvhango, initially owed the tax-collecting authority more than R6.5 million in unpaid personal income tax.
However, the amount ballooned to more than R6.8 million after R312 000 in interest was imposed.
Mbau’s debt increased to just under R6.9 million after the South African Revenue Service added R31 000 in administrative penalties.
Before hauling Mbau to court for a judgment, SARS dispatched a letter of demand to the flamboyant media personality on October 13, requesting her to settle the debt.
At the time, Mbau’s tax liability stood at more than R6.7 million. In the letter, SARS gave her 10 business days from the date of the demand to settle the outstanding amount or apply for available debt relief measures.
These included paying the debt in instalments, applying for suspension of the debt if a formal dispute had been lodged, or seeking a compromise on a portion of the outstanding amount.
The revenue service warned that failure to settle the debt or make use of the available remedies could result in further recovery measures, including appointing third parties holding money on her behalf to pay the outstanding amount.
SARS also warned that civil judgment proceedings could follow, potentially paving the way for a warrant of execution allowing the sheriff to attach and sell her assets.
The revenue service further cautioned that interest would continue to accrue on the outstanding amount.
Speaking to Africa Daily, Mbau said she would only comment after speaking to her accountant.
“I have not been available on the phone today. My accountant asked me to call. Once I can, I will call you or respond,” she said.
However, despite promising to provide a comment, Mbau had not done so at the time of publication.
