The South African government has rejected media claims over the amount of taxes owed by high net worth individuals in the country, issuing an assurance that it will ensure tax obligations are fulfilled, according to news reports.

Yesterday, Pravin Gordhan, the South African finance minister, released a written response to a parliamentary query, indicating that the national media have recently reported that high net worth individuals in South Africa owe as much as ZAR50 billion (around $6.27 billion) in unpaid taxes, but this figure misrepresents the real situation and is just an  estimate of the cumulative current gross income of all HNWIs. in South Africa.

The estimate is also based on the calculations completed by a third party and contradict information currently held by the South African Revenue Services, the minister said, adding that “…an accurate estimate of the potential tax liability of this group is not possible as each case is unique”.

Gordhan said HNWIs often use varying business structures, and have several income sources from more than one country, making it difficult to calculate total tax liabilities without conducting a case-by-case in-depth investigation.