Tag: Jean du Toit

The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, delivered the 2022 Budget to parliament. Discussed below are key highlights from the 2022 Budget Review:

The President has given effect to the 2021 tax proposals by signing three tax Acts into law. On 14 January 2022, the President gave his assent to the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act No. 19 of 2021 (Rates Act), the Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 20 of 2021 (TLAA) and the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act No. 21 of 2021 (TALAA). These Acts were promulgated on 19 January 2021.

Expatriates and those with plans to emigrate will be relieved to learn that the proposal to impose an exit tax on retirement interests will be withdrawn. In presenting their Draft Response Document on the 2021 Draft Tax Bills, National Treasury and SARS confirmed that the proposal will not be included in final Taxation Laws Amendment Bill that will be tabled in tomorrow’s Medium Term Budget.

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'.

President Ramaphosa announced on 25 July that government will provide continued support to businesses by deferring employees’ taxes (PAYE) for three months. On the face of it, the relief measure will help businesses stay afloat, but employers should think carefully before they choose to implement it.

National Treasury published the latest Draft Tax Bills on 28 July 2021, which incorporate the tax proposals made in the 2021 Budget. Highlighted are five key changes proposed by government that taxpayers need to be aware of.  

Too often, taxpayers seem to forget that the most important aspect of dealing with SARS is to ensure that they can discharge their burden of proof. As a taxpayer, it is on you to provide SARS with the relevant material that, on a balance of probabilities, supports your position. 

Over the course of lockdown, pundits have shared some harrowing statistics regarding the increase in unemployment in South Africa. In general, our unemployment rates are moving in the wrong direction and the affected households have suffered great hardship as a result, but it is important to understand what this means for our tax base and our growing budget deficit.

The days where SARS shuts its eyes to taxpayers’ offshore holdings are thing of the past. SARS is finally utilising the Automatic Exchange of Information regime to pin down taxpayers who have not disclosed their offshore interests and numerous taxpayers have already received some alarming notices to this effect.

1 March 2021 marks a watershed for retirement funds in South Africa. Most are focussed on the annuitisation rules that have been pending since 1 March 2015, otherwise known as 'T-day'. While these reforms are significant, retirement fund members need to understand them in the grand scheme of things.