Forming a Trust in South Africa: Which Type Suits You?

What is a trust? The answer may seem obvious, but in practice, many people get confused as to exactly what a trust is and what such a structure is meant for. In this article, we examine the various types of trust recognised under the South African common law, as well as where the Income Tax […]

The Consequences of Making Loans to Trusts

Family trusts have long been a central feature of South African estate and wealth planning, with high-net-worth individuals using trust structures to protect assets and to save certain assets, particularly from estate duty. However, many taxpayers who hold substantial assets baulk at the idea of losing complete control over any assets that they may transfer […]

CGT and Unit Trusts: When Are You Liable?

What are the Capital Gains Tax implications of investing in unit trusts? Unit trusts, or collective investments to give them their proper name, have long been popular investments, particularly for the ordinary investor. The main reason for this is that for a fairly small amount of money, one can gain access to a fairly diversified […]

What Does Being a Trustee of a Body Corporate Entail? (Part 1)

When all the trustees of a body corporate resign, the options available to the owners include the appointment of: replacement trustees at a special general meeting. an executive managing agent at a special general meeting or approaching the Community Schemes Ombud service to do so. appointment of an administrator by way of an application to […]

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 […]

Who qualifies for a special trust and how is it taxed?

Unlike “conventional trusts” that are taxed at a flat tax rate, a special trust is taxed on the same sliding scale applicable to natural persons. The Income Tax Act provides for two types of special trusts: a so-called type-A and type-B trust. In essence, a type-A trust is created for a person (or persons) having […]

Section 7C of the Income Tax Act explained

What is section 7C? This section of the Income Tax Act is an anti-avoidance measure aimed at transactions between connected persons and trusts, where a trust is funded by low interest or interest-free loans. This is usually done to ensure that assets form part of the trust’s capital, and the funder (who is usually a […]

RENTEVRYE LENINGS EN TRUSTS

Die onlangse invoering van Afdeling 7C tot die Wet op Inkomstebelasting1 het die belasting van trusts, en spesifiek die befondsing daarvan, opnuut onder die soeklig geplaas. In kort, Afdeling 7C beoog die heffing van skenkingsbelasting op lenings verskuldig deur trusts aan verbonde partye (tipies die begunstigdes of maatskappye wat dit beheer). Tot die mate waartoe […]

Belasting van trusts

In die begrotingstoespraak gedurende Februarie 2013 het die Minister van Finansies gemeld dat die belasting van trusts onder oorsig geneem sal word om enige misbruik daarvan te beheer. In die begrotingsoorsig van 2013 deur Nasionale Tesourie is die volgende gemeld: To curtail tax avoidance associated with trusts, government is proposing several legislative measures during 2013/14. […]