How South African Revenue Service Stands Against Tech Giants: Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) reported record gross collections in April 2023, a commendable feat given the country's economic and structural challenges. While the record R2.068 trillion marked a significant milestone for SARS, the net collection, R1.687 trillion after payment of R381 billion in refunds, still falls short of the revenue levels seen in the world's top technology companies.

Amazon’s annual earnings tell us a lot more than meets the eye. With a whopping R10.13 trillion in revenue, it stands at the top, dwarfing SARS' earnings by a significant margin. Even though Amazon reinvests heavily into its business, foregoing large dividends, it managed to generate R250 billion.

Apple, with its diversified product portfolio including iPhone, iPad, and Macbook, followed suit, featuring R7.23 trillion in revenue, of which, R1.78 trillion was earnings - higher than SARS’ R1.69 trillion.

Microsoft, despite a comparatively lower revenue of R4.11 billion, boasted R1.45 trillion in earnings, leveraging its profitable software and cloud products. Meanwhile, Google accrued R5.59 trillion in revenue, with earnings of R1.26 trillion.

Therefore, while SARS’ achievement is significant in its own right, when placed in context with these tech giants, it stresses the magnitude of earnings these corporations are making globally.

Note: Investing in the mentioned company stocks must be thought out thoroughly. Ensure to seek legal and taxation related counsel appropriate to your jurisdiction before making information-based financial decisions.