By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Businesswoman and Royal AM owner Shauwn Mkhize is at the centre of another tax-related controversy and could lose her possessions.
Mkhize is facing the potential loss of her fleet of luxury cars due to unpaid taxes totaling R37 million.
This incident adds to the soccer magnate’s history of tax disputes. In 2020, Sars successfully obtained a liquidation order against her cleaning business for an unpaid tax debt exceeding R200,000.
The City Press reported new allegations from Sars, stating that Mkhize has failed to meet her tax obligations.
According to the publication, the revenue collector is petitioning the Pietermaritzburg High Court to seize 13 luxury vehicles, including a Lamborghini and a Rolls Royce, owned by Shandi Trust and Royal AM, entities where Mkhize is the major shareholder.
The revenue collector has also demanded that Shandi Trust bear the cost of the legal proceedings, with the trustees listed as Siphokazi Zuma, Senzekile Mseleku, and Melusi Mkhize.
Furthermore, MaMkhize has been ordered to deliver all motor vehicles belonging to Shandi Trust to the curator within seven days of the court order.
However, the vehicles may still be used by the current user, provided they furnish proof of insurance and permission from the curator.
Apart from the R37 million owed by her businesses, it has been reported that Sars has a personal claim against the businesswoman, which amounts to R12 million.
Sars’ head of communications, Siphithi Sibeko, declined to comment, citing confidentiality laws.
While Mkhize faces issues with the tax collector, there are also unresolved situations involving former Thwihli Thwahla players who are awaiting payment.
TS Galaxy striker Samir Nurkovic had his two-year contract prematurely terminated, being released two months into the deal without payment. Fifa subsequently imposed a transfer ban on Royal AM after they failed to pay the R12 million owed to the 31-year-old by the specified deadline.
Also, Brazilian Ricardo Nascimento was released by the Pietermaritzburg-based club in the latter stages of the 2022-23 season, with just two months remaining on his contract. After his dismissal, he referred his case to Fifa’s dispute resolution chamber (DRC), seeking the remuneration he felt was owed according to his contract.