Tag: Micaela Paschini

Value-Added Tax (VAT) remains one of the most powerful revenue instruments available to the South African fiscus. In practical terms, it continues to rival personal income tax as a primary contributor to government revenue. It also remains indispensable to the South African Revenue Service (SARS)’s collection mandate. This reality matters.

In a significant win for taxpayers on the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) “narrow” approach to the ability to claim input Value-Added Tax (VAT), the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) recently ruled in favour of Woolworths Holdings (Woolworths), the group holding company, affirming its right to claim over R8 million in input VAT.

The Constitutional Court judgement in Greyvensteyn vs Commissioner for SARS and Others has been welcomed by South African Revenue Service (SARS)! Serving to reaffirm the constitutionality of SARS holding individuals personally liable for company debts, the Greyvensteyn judgement emphasises this point. It also supports SARS pursuing recovery from those persons. The judgement highlights the importance of tax revenue collection

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has signalled a stronger focus on Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) compliance. Furthermore, SARS PAYE compliance focus is highlighted in its 2023/24 Annual Report. SARS's renewed attention includes a rigorous auditing strategy targeting employers. The aim is to ensure PAYE is accurately held and remitted.

National Treasury is set to address a critical anomaly in the Value-Added Tax Act, No. 89 of 1991 (VAT Act). This anomaly has significant implications for multinational companies with foreign subsidiaries.

In a significant move to strengthen the integrity of the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) scheme, the government has proposed amendments to Sections 1(1) and 5(3) of the Employment Tax Incentive Act, No. 26 of 2013. The ETI, introduced in 2013, aims to encourage employers to hire young job seekers by reducing the cost of employment through a government-supported cost-sharing mechanism.

To the relief of Coronation Investment Management SA (Coronation), the Constitutional Court has overturned the Supreme Court of Appeal’s (SCA) judgment in favour of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

On 1 April 2023, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) released its new “beneficial ownership register” functionality on its e-services platform. This new requirement has placed companies under the spotlight as they must now declare their beneficial ownership to the CIPC. This means the days when the “warm body” which sits behind a company can no longer remain off record.