Never do things just ‘for tax purposes’
A decision based solely on tax considerations is likely to be the wrong one. “I HATE tax!” These were the words spoken by a director of one of the clients of the audit firm with whom I served articles. Whilst many would agree with this sentiment towards the tax-man, this particular individual’s zeal in devising […]
Bribes, penalties, and fines: Don’t expect help from SARS
The meeting went on longer than you expected, and now you’re rushing to get to your next appointment. It’s a new client, and a successful deal will be lucrative both for your company and this month’s commission cheque. But not five minutes after you get onto the freeway, some plod with a hairdryer in his […]
Section 24C Allowance: Future Expenditure
The nature of a taxpayer’s business may be such that the taxpayer receives amounts under a contract that will be used to finance expenditure to be incurred in future in performing under that contract. Generally, this would result in an inclusion of the amount in that taxpayer’s income in that year of assessment. In contrast, […]
Submit your return on time, or face penalties
Non-residents and earners of foreign income are also receiving extra attention this year The tax season for the 2022 tax year has just started, and it will be one of the shortest to date. The period to submit tax returns opened on 1 July 2022 and runs to 24 October 2022 for individual taxpayers who […]
Transfer of assets between spouses: What are the tax implications?
Section 9HB of the Income Tax Act provides for a roll-over of a capital gain or loss when an asset is transferred between spouses during their lifetimes. The roll-over is mandatory, and spouses do not have the option to elect out of it. The policy rationale for the roll-over is that the transferor spouse must benefit […]
SARS helping businesses lessen the tax load
The last few months have been extremely tough for small business owners as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and various lockdown measures that have created a challenging trading environment. The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has identified this hardship, and as a result, the National Treasury recently tabled the Disaster Management Tax Relief Administration Bill, which would assist micro, small and […]
Taxpayers’ details remain protected
In the case of the Commissioner for SARS vs Public Protector (23 March 2020) in the Gauteng High Court, the matter of the confidentiality of taxpayer information came up for consideration. This matter has a protracted history stemming from around November 2018. The Public Protector’s office had been actively seeking the (then) president’s tax records for an […]
Tax law for employer transport services
In terms of the Tax Administration Act, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) can issue Binding General Rulings (“BGR”) on matters of general interest or importance and clarifies the Commissioner’s application or interpretation of the tax law relating to these matters.BGR 50 provides clarity on the so-called “no-value” provision in respect of the rendering of […]
The taxing of capital gain
Section 9HA of the Income Tax Act deals with deemed disposals by a deceased person. This section of the Act often causes some confusion, especially where there are heirs or legatees other than the surviving spouse. In terms of the provision, a deceased person is treated as having disposed of his or her assets at […]
Tax relief amid COVID-19
While South Africa is currently in a state of lockdown during which a significant number of businesses have had to cease operations, some relief from a tax perspective has been announced by the government. Tax-compliant businesses with a turnover of less than R50 million will be allowed to defer (importantly, not have waived) 20% of […]