Tag: Income Tax Act (ITA)

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has announced the deadline dates for filing income tax returns for the 2022 year of assessment as well as the details of those exempt from filing returns. On 3 June 2022, SARS will publish a notice in the Government Gazette specifying the taxpayers that do not need to file income tax returns for the 2022 year of assessment, and the deadlines for taxpayers that have to file an income tax return.

Given the ever-changing landscape of the past two years, the adage that nothing is certain except death and taxes is perhaps more apposite than ever. Whilst it may appear that a semblance of normality is returning, its almost as certain as death and taxes, that remote working will be a part of the next normal.

South Africa’s finance minister Mr. Enoch Godongwana presented the 2022/2023 Budget Speech on 23 February, announcing a few changes that, from a legislative perspective, payroll managers need to know about to remain compliant.

The National Treasury announced in the 2022 Budget Review that the corporate tax rate will be lowered to 27% for years of assessment that end or on after 31 March 2023. Practically, for most companies, this means that the reduced rate applies for years of assessment that start on or after 1 April 2022 and some companies may already enjoy the effect of the reduction in 2022 when making provisional tax payments.

In 2021 amendments were proposed relating to section 20 of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 to limit corporate taxpayers’ ability to utilise assessed losses carried forward to 80% of the value of such assessed losses in a given year of assessment.

South Africa was the first country in the world to grant the tax concession in Section 37D of the Income Tax Act to protect biodiversity, which provides a sustainable financing solution. Biodiversity is a key element of tackling climate change, and it is an area in which South Africa has demonstrated flexibility and innovation.

Whether working abroad or still hunting for jobs overseas, the possibility of a financial emigration always hits centre stage at some point. Tax is inherently complex, but once you start crossing borders it becomes an ever-changing calculation that can easily render void the benefits of earning a foreign income, which was possibly the reason why you chose to work abroad in the first place.

The most contentious proposal introduced by the 2021 Draft Tax Bills is arguably the tax on retirement interests when a person ceases tax residency. The proposed tax has widely been christened as a further 'exit tax' imposed on South Africans leaving the country. However, based on responses by the Minister of Finance to a written parliamentary Q&A, some have questioned whether the proposal can rightfully be classified as an 'exit tax'.

There are many reasons why South African tax residents undertake to cease tax residency through the financial emigration process. One of the reasons is that a successful financial emigration provides one with the rare opportunity to fully encash your policy funds.

With effect from 1 January 2019, the doubtful debt allowance provisions contained in section 11(j) of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 (the Act) were amended. While taxpayers who apply IFRS 9 have been grappling with these changes for some time, other taxpayers may not have realised the extent to which the amendments practically alter the determination of the allowances that they may claim