Is a maintenance payment a ‘Donation’?
Helping someone out may be exempt from donations tax—but as always, the devil is in the detail… Donations tax is one of those strange taxes where people often question its existence. After all, why would SARS be so mean as to want to tax someone’s generosity? The main reason is estate duty—or, more specifically, the […]
What to do after discovering fraud in your business
Anyone who’s ever had the misfortune to fall prey to credit card fraud, knows that it’s a huge hassle. If you’re running a business, you should be aware that your business may be at an even greater risk of having its financial data compromised, which can have much more serious implications compared to that of […]
Tax compliance lives beyond death
A deceased estate takes on a (tax) life of its own while being wound up. I started my first job back in September 1987 at the tender age of 18, and approximately nine months later I received my very first income tax return from the Receiver of Revenue (as SARS was known in those days), […]
More blackouts, fewer jobs, less tax revenue
When will government recognise that Eskom’s crisis is South Africa’s crisis? It is shocking that the South African government seems not to regard the now regular power blackouts lasting four hours at a time as the single biggest risk to South Africa’s economic growth and to its relatively stable young democracy. This can only exacerbate […]
Testamentary trusts still have their place
How you can protect your assets from predators—including SARS Trusts have received a lot of bad press over the past few years, what with SARS taking a dim view of the use of trusts as a means of avoiding tax. A 2008 case involving a property trust, where the beneficiaries were changed in the hope […]
The new SARS solar energy tax credit
The tax credit for individuals installing solar panels is here, for a limited time only. The proposed new law regarding the tax credit available to individuals who install solar panels has been announced. The system will be introduced in the form of a tax credit, as opposed to a tax deduction. This is good news, […]
HOW ARE FOREIGN PENSIONS AFFECTED BY SA TAX?
Although there has been an increasing trend in recent times of emigrations from South Africa, there are many projects by the Department of Home Affairs to market South Africa as a friendly retirement destination for foreigners. The question, therefore, often arises: How will foreign pensions be taxed locally once persons become tax resident. The Income Tax Act, in section 10(1)(gC), allows for an exemption of any amount received or accrued by a resident […]
HOME OFFICE EXPENSES: DO I QUALIFY?
Tax practitioners have been inundated with queries from clients on the possible relief offered by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) on the possibility of deducting from their taxable income home office expenses due to the shift in working policies by many employers. SARS recently hosted a webinar on the matter (the summary of which […]
ALLES WHAT JY MOET WEET OOR SKENKINGSBELASTING
Is jou kennis genoegsaam oor skenkingsbelasting? Dink jy dalk daaraan om ń familielid finansieel by te staan, of om ń kind te help met ń deposito vir die aankoop van ‘n huis of motorvoertuig? Voor jy die transaksie aangaan is daar ń paar dinge wat jy in gedagte moet hou wanneer dit by ń skenking […]
THIRD-PARTY COLLECTING AGENTS
In SIP Project Managers (Pty) Ltd v CSARS (29 April 2020), the Gauteng Division of the High Court ruled against SARS on the appointment of a third-party (Standard Bank, in this case) to collect tax debts from taxpayers’ accounts. The matter was an application for declaratory relief against SARS for such an appointment to be set aside […]