NON-RESIDENT SELLERS OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
Section 35A of the Income Tax Act[1] came into effect on 1 September 2007 and sets out the capital gains tax consequences of the sale of immovable property situated in South Africa in instances where the seller is not a South African tax resident. In terms of these provisions, the purchaser of the immovable property […]
REGISTRATION OF A TRUST AS A TAXPAYER
The frustration experienced by taxpayers and the complexity of registering a trust as a taxpayer with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), has been widely publicised in recent years. Despite calls from industry bodies for a simplified approach (like companies and individuals), registering a trust as a taxpayer remains an overly complex process. The inconsistency […]
BAD DEBTS AND VAT
While there is currently a focus on the income tax considerations of bad and doubtful debts (given that National Treasury has proposed changes to section 11(j) of the Income Tax Act[1] to allow for an allowance of 25% of impairments in respect of doubtful debts), the Value Added Tax (VAT) aspect of bad debts is […]
THE INTERPRETATIVE VALUE OF SARS INTERPRETATION NOTES
In terms of section 4 of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Act,[1] one of the objectives of SARS is to secure the efficient, effective and widest possible enforcement of tax and related acts. One of the methods employed by SARS in this mandate is through the publication of official documents on the application, or […]
EMPLOYEES’ TAX (PART I): PERSONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS
For there to be an obligation for PAYE to be withheld is typically dependent on three elements being present. These elements are all defined in the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act[1] and include the presence of an employer, an employee and the payment of remuneration. No employees’ tax can be charged if one […]
2018 TAX SEASON: SARS SHORTENS SUBMISSION PERIOD
The annual tax filing season is upon us and acting SARS Commissioner, Mark Kingon, announced that the season will open on 1 July 2018 for eFilers. SARS branches will assist taxpayers from 2 July 2018. The filing season will then end on 31 October. To improve efficiency, the season will be shortened by three weeks, […]
THE TAX COURT REVIEWS THE DEDUCTIBILITY OF GENERAL BUSINESS EXPENSES
The recent Cape Town Tax Court judgment of S G Taxpayer v The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service,[1] delivered on 9 May 2018, re-affirmed a number of key concepts regarding the deductibility of expenses for tax purposes generally in terms of the general deductions formula contained in section 11(a) of the Income Tax […]
“BOOKING” CAPITAL LOSSES ON SHARES IS NOT THAT EASY
There is a number of techniques that taxpayers use to reduce their capital gains tax (CGT) exposure on long-term share investments. A common practice is to utilise the annual exclusion of R40 000 provided for in paragraph 5 of the Eighth Schedule of the Income Tax Act[1] by selling shares that have been bought at a […]
ADDITIONAL MEDICAL EXPENSES TAX CREDIT
Section 6B of the Income Tax Act[1] provides for an additional medical expenses tax credit (“AMTC”) which is calculated against qualifying “out of pocket” medical expenses. This tax credit reduces the amount of income tax a natural person (hereinafter referred to as the “taxpayer”) is liable to pay. The AMTC is granted in addition to […]
THE TAXATION OF EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE SCHEMES
It has become popular commercial practice for many employers to design employment incentive schemes whereby employees are remunerated for services rendered over a period of time by allowing them to participate in share incentive schemes. Typically, these schemes take the form of either cash-based settled schemes or share-based settled schemes. The former involves participating employees […]
