It was as profound a victory for accountability as it was precedent-setting as a triumph for SA’s access to information laws. The High Court ordered the SA Revenue Service (SARS) to hand over, within 10 days, the tax returns of former president Jacob Zuma from 2010 to 2018.
The FM, along with media organisation amaBhungane, lodged this case two years ago, arguing that there was a clear public interest in disclosing these records under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia), considering the “serious and credible” evidence that Zuma wasn’t tax-compliant during his years as president.

Public Interest
The FM and amaBhungane didn’t call for a wholesale removal of this confidentiality regime; only that where the public interest outweighs the harm, there can be a “public interest override” to the secrecy regime.
In the case of Zuma, the public interest was manifest and substantial. Interestingly, Zuma didn’t oppose this application — rather, he simply ignored it.
Elements of Tax Admin Act is unconstitutional
The Court ruled that a blanket prohibition on revealing taxpayer information, whatever the circumstances, “is not justified” under section 36 of the constitution. Those clauses in the Tax Administration Act which prevent information being given out under the access to information rules are “unconstitutional”. For good measure, the Court gave parliament two years to remedy the defects in both the Tax Administration Act and Paia.