As the law currently stands, if a South African tax resident works abroad for 183 days or more (of which 60 days must run consecutively) in a year, that person is not taxed locally on foreign based earnings. Treasury has however released draft legislation which if adopted will repeal this exemption. For many South African
SARS’ Plans to Tax Income Earned Abroad Read More »
The Companies Act (the Act) gives directors the power to run and manage the company’s business. In return it places responsibilities and personal liabilities on directors who do not fulfil their fiduciary duties. What is required of directors’ meeting minutes? Meetings of directors are to be kept and must contain at least: All resolutions passed
Directors’ Meeting Minutes: Why Are They So Important? Read More »
“The SVDP is meant for individuals and companies who have not in the past disclosed tax and exchange control defaults in relation to offshore assets” (SARS) If you aren’t sure whether or not you should apply for the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP), take advice immediately – The deadline is 31 August 2017, and you
SARS and the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme: It’s Deadline Time! Read More »
The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) has been operating since 2001 but lately has been revised to bring it into line with global practices and to sharpen its focus of fighting money laundering and terrorism financing. So common has FICA become that people and banks now talk about “being FICA’d”. The outcomes of FICA before
FICA: Will the Revised Act Still be a Four Letter Word? Read More »
“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys” (P.J. O’Rourke) Once again tax season has opened for individuals, and whilst we can chuckle at jokes about the pain of paying taxes, they remain of course an integral part of life. By now you should have already gathered
Tax Season Opened On 1 July: Here’s What You Need to Know, and Do Read More »
There has been uncertainty for some time as to whether employees’ tax (PAYE) should be deducted from payments made to Non-Executive Directors (NED’s) for the services they perform. There has also been debate around whether NED’s should charge VAT for their services. The Minister of Finance undertook to clarify this in the February 2016 Budget
Non-Executive Directors: Income Tax and VAT Implications Read More »
Often in the dispute process, vital documents cannot be accessed. For example, a request to SARS to explain an assessment (Request for Reasons) is lodged but it gets either lost or stuck in the SARS system. By the time it is located and SARS has responded to the taxpayer, the SARS system will have timed
SARS Streamlines its Alternative Dispute Resolution System via eFiling Read More »
“Cheops’ Law: Nothing ever gets built on schedule or within budget” (Robert A. Heinlein) Hopefully you won’t have to wait 20 years for your new dream home to be built – that’s how long Cheops (ancient Egyptian pharaoh) had to hang around twiddling his thumbs whilst his Great Pyramid of Giza was going up –
Built a House: What is an Occupancy Certificate? Why Do You Need It? Read More »
Events have moved swiftly – on 31 March the Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister were axed. Ratings agencies Fitch and S&P downgraded South African debt to junk status the next week. Why the muted response? In December last year when Mr. Nene was replaced as Finance Minister, it appeared we had fallen off
Junk Status Is Now a Reality – How Will It Affect Us? Read More »
A global organisation which focuses on internal (i.e. management, owners and staff) fraud, recently released some sobering findings. Understanding them is your first step in protecting your business from serious loss. In Sub-Saharan Africa Over 60% of frauds were committed by people with a degree (in view of the large number of fake degrees consider
Frightening Fraud Statistics – Protect Your Business Now! Read More »
