Tax

S12J refers to a section of The Income Tax Act. This section allows an investor to deduct the full cost of their investment into an approved s12J company against their taxable income. This benefit is available to individuals, companies and trusts and can be utilised against normal income as well as Capital Gains tax.

As the afterglow of the festive season fades, we turn our attention to planning for the next 12 months and beyond. This is a great time to reassess where we are in our journey to financial well-being.

There are many reasons why a taxpayer may want to know their tax compliance status. A taxpayer may, for example, require a Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) for a tender or an emigration application. 

A new SA-TIED research study estimates that South Africa loses about 7 billion ZAR a year due to profit shifting by multinational corporations; amounting to about 4% of total current corporate income tax receipts.

Tax authorities could do more to realise the full potential of new technology to reduce the tax compliance burden on taxpayers, according to the 2019 edition of the annual Paying Taxes 2019 Report, produced by PwC and the World Bank Group.

While South African citizens temporarily working overseas are still subject to South African tax laws, individuals who wish to permanently emigrate to a new country need to ensure that they follow the correct steps to enable them to take their savings with them and avoid running up against unnecessary tax problems down the line. 

A taxpayer may organise his financial affairs in such a way as to pay the least tax permissible. Our courts have confirmed on many occasions that there is nothing wrong with arrangements that are tax effective, but there is something wrong with dressing up or disguising a transaction to make it appear to be something that it is not.

To err is human and mistakes are sometimes made on tax invoices. Treasury has thus deemed it necessary to amend section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (Act) which sets out the requirements for issuing tax invoices.

The taxation of real estate investment trusts (REITs) was discussed at the recent National Treasury Workshop on the 2018 draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, held on 4 September 2018, in Midrand. The correct tax treatment of certain anomalies, including the taxing of commercial lease deposits, was raised.

After becoming aware of an increase in payroll deductions in the past years, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and National Treasury have engaged in discussions with stakeholders on the creation of a regulatory framework to govern payroll deductions. The proposal was open for public comment until 30 April 2018.