Transferring assets between group companies
The Income Tax Act contains various provisions in terms of which transactions can occur between specified parties without adverse tax consequences being incurred in respect of those transactions. These provisions are contained in sections 41 to 47 of the Income Tax Act and are generally known as the “group relief provisions”. Apart from certain value-shifting and general […]
Section 42: Asset-for-share transactions
It is often the case that South African tax resident shareholders wish to reorganise their South African group of companies, for a multitude of commercial reasons, without the ultimate shareholders changing. One of these could potentially be to create a single holding company structure. Various group relief provisions are contained in the Income Tax Act […]
Home office expenditure
Taxpayers who are salaried employees have limited deductions available to them. However, home office expenditure can be claimed as an income tax deduction, but the onus is on the taxpayer to prove that the expenses are in fact deductible. For employment to constitute a “trade” and to qualify to deduct home office expenditure, the taxpayer […]
Intra-group transactions and the subsequent sale of assets
The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) issued a private binding ruling (BPR329) on 27 September 2019 on the tax implications of intra-group transactions and the subsequent sale of the relevant assets to a third party outside the group of companies. The taxpayer in this regard wants to implement a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment transaction in […]
Gross vs net profit: Why numbers are deceiving
In the world of business, your earnings can make a large difference between getting investors to invest in your business and being completely overlooked. Many business owners think that the more money they bring in, the more likely it is that investors will show interest. This is true to some extent, but in actuality, thinking […]
Smart accounting: Are you VAT compliant?
The last several years have seen an increase in “smart accounting systems” that have online capabilities and that can integrate with various other business solutions. These smart accounting systems have revolutionised traditional accounting, and there can be no question that many businesses run a more organised and financially sound operation as a result of the […]
You cannot escape VAT when touring
On 25 May 2021, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld an appeal by the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services (“SARS”) against Tourvest Financial Services (Pty) Ltd (“Tourvest”), a licensed dealer in foreign exchange, concerning its value-added tax (“VAT”) liability. The judgement sets very clear guidelines on when apportionment for VAT inputs must be made, where vendors produce both taxable and exempt supplies. […]
Auditing your tax compliance profile
Taxpayers who make use of the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) electronic filing system (or as it is generally known, eFiling) will know that, in addition to containing a history of income returns, value-added tax, pay-as-you-earn, etc., a significant amount of personal and company data is stored on the platform. This includes information such as banking details, a person’s physical address, email addresses, and relevant contact persons for […]
What is meant by “connected persons”?
On 28 January 2020, SARS released interpretation note 67 providing guidance on the term “connected persons” in section 1(1) of the Income Tax Act. The interpretation note itself is voluminous but worthy of a short discussion as one may fall within this definition without knowing. The definition allows for the following scenarios to be regarded […]
Gone are the days of tax-free salaries abroad
Many South African taxpayers earning a salary abroad have for many years been able to benefit from so-called “double non-taxation”. This would be the case where salaries are earned in countries where the employer country would not tax salaries earned in that country, and where a domestic South African income tax exemption would also be […]