Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered his third annual budget address on 24 February 2021. Below we highlight some of the significant proposals, which will likely be contained in the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill to be published for public comment in June or July 2021. Applying tax on withdrawals of retirement interest when an individual ceases to be a tax resident When an individual ceases …
Scammers posing as SARS officials are on the rise
In late August 2020, a large credit bureau in South Africa was the target of a data breach where millions of private individual and company data records were compromised. This data leakage, coupled with the tax filing season, makes for the perfect opportunity for taxpayers’ information to be abused, subjecting taxpayers to potential financial loss. Scammers thrive on the inherent vulnerability of taxpayers during the tax season and know how to capitalise on the taxpayers’ struggles in dealing with SARS and their fear of the …
What to expect this tax season as an individual taxpayer
The tax season is swiftly approaching. For many people, it’s a time of the year that they dread. When it comes down to it, tax can become complicated mess that involves a lot of maths and calculations that just doesn’t come naturally to most. For those of us who don’t have PhDs in accounting or mathematics, crunching the numbers and …
The elimination of intra-group loans
In terms of the Tax Administration Act, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) can issue, in response to an application, Binding Private Rulings (“BPR”) and clarifies how the Commissioner would interpret and apply the provisions of the tax laws relating to a specific proposed transaction. BPR 346 determines the income tax and dividends tax consequences of the redemption of intra-group loans by way of set-off against …
Tax ombud – recourse for aggrieved taxpayers
The Tax Administration Act that came into effect on 1 October 2012 is a valiant attempt to balance the rights of the tax man with those of the taxpayer. One of the ways of bolstering the taxpayer’s position on this not very level playing field is the creation of the office of the ombudsman or tax ombud. Exactly one year …
SARS to intensify action against tax offenders
Despite the fact that SARS has upheld their philosophy of education, service, and thereafter enforcement, they have noticed an increase in taxpayers not submitting their tax returns by the stipulated deadlines, and not settling their outstanding debt with SARS. This is not limited to the current tax year but includes substantial non-compliance across previous tax years. It is for this …