Privacy Notice
Privacy & POPIA Notice
ARTax Solutions is a small, owner-managed tax practice operated by Arlene Ries, a registered South African tax practitioner. Because Arlene works directly with clients, she personally handles the personal, financial and tax information entrusted to ARTax Solutions.
Tax information is private and often highly sensitive. Protecting it and keeping it confidential is an important part of the service ARTax Solutions provides. This Privacy Notice explains how personal information is collected, used, stored and protected in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).
What Personal Information May Be Collected?
Depending on the services required, ARTax Solutions may need information such as:
- Name, identity number and contact details
- Residential and postal address
- Employment, income, salary, commission and other earnings
- Bank and investment information
- Tax numbers, SARS information, tax returns and supporting documents
- Deductions, expenses and business activity information
- Tax residency and emigration information
- Relevant information about a spouse, dependants or other persons where necessary for your tax affairs
- Business and financial information for business or provisional tax matters
- Other information reasonably required to provide the requested tax services
Only information reasonably necessary for the work being performed should be collected and processed.
How Information Is Received
- Directly from you
- From documents you provide
- Through email, WhatsApp or another agreed communication channel
- From SARS or another government authority where authorised
- From an employer or another authorised third party
- From financial or professional advisers where authorised
- Through the ARTax Solutions website when you make an enquiry
Please do not send highly sensitive documents through the ordinary website enquiry form. Identity documents, tax returns, bank statements and similar records should be exchanged only through an agreed secure method.
Why Your Information Is Used
- Preparing and submitting tax returns
- Assisting with SARS matters
- Tax calculations and advice
- Tax residency and cessation of tax residency matters
- Provisional tax
- Tax disputes, objections and penalty remission requests
- Communicating with SARS on your behalf where authorised
- Maintaining client and accounting records
- Preparing invoices and administering accounts
- Meeting legal, professional and regulatory obligations
- Protecting legal rights where necessary
Personal information is not collected simply because it might be useful in the future.
Keeping Information Safe
ARTax Solutions takes reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction.
Where sensitive documents need to be stored or transferred, secure systems may be used so that client documents are not openly accessible over the public internet. Access may be restricted to authorised users and devices, and encrypted storage or secure file-transfer technology may be used where applicable.
Security arrangements are reviewed from time to time and reasonable steps are taken to address identified risks.
Confidentiality & Disclosure
Tax and financial information is treated as confidential and will only be disclosed where:
- You have authorised disclosure;
- It is necessary to provide the service requested;
- Disclosure is required or permitted by law; or
- It is necessary to protect legal rights or comply with a professional or regulatory obligation.
For example, information may need to be provided to SARS when a tax return is submitted or a SARS matter is handled on your behalf. Where third-party service providers process information, reasonable steps are taken to ensure suitable confidentiality and security measures are in place.
Information About Other People
You may sometimes provide information about a spouse, child, dependant, employee, business partner or another person. You should only provide another person's information where you are authorised to do so or where it is reasonably necessary for the tax or service matter being dealt with.
How Long Information Is Kept
Client information is retained for as long as reasonably necessary to provide services, meet legal and professional record-keeping requirements, resolve disputes and protect legitimate interests. Information is securely deleted or destroyed when it is no longer required, subject to applicable legal or professional retention requirements.
Your Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Ask what personal information ARTax Solutions holds about you
- Request access to that information
- Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request deletion where there is no lawful reason to retain the information
- Object to certain processing
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
- Lodge a complaint about the processing of your personal information
If you have a concern, ARTax Solutions encourages you to make contact first so that the issue can be considered and, where possible, resolved.
Accessing or Correcting Information
If you would like to access, correct or update personal information held by ARTax Solutions, please use the contact details in the PAIA section below. Your identity may need to be verified before personal information is released or changed. Formal requests for access to records under PAIA must follow the applicable PAIA process.
Direct Marketing
ARTax Solutions will not sell your personal information. Existing clients may occasionally be contacted about services, important tax deadlines or information believed to be relevant to their tax affairs. You may ask for marketing or promotional communications to stop at any time.
Website Information, Forms & Cookies
The website at www.artaxsolutions.co.za may collect limited technical information required for security, performance and operation.
The website enquiry form collects only the details you choose to submit so that ARTax Solutions can respond to your enquiry. The form does not accept document uploads, and visitors are specifically asked not to submit tax returns, ID documents, banking records or other highly sensitive records through it.
Standard server logs may record technical information such as IP address, request time and browser/request information for security and operational purposes. The website does not currently rely on a newsletter system or non-essential marketing cookies. If analytics, cookies or other third-party website services are introduced in a way that requires additional notice or consent, this notice and the website's consent mechanisms will be updated as appropriate.
Security Incidents
If ARTax Solutions becomes aware of a security compromise involving personal information, reasonable steps will be taken to investigate, contain and remedy the incident and to make any notifications required by applicable law.
