Tag: Tax Consulting SA

The fiscal pressures on South African Revenue Service's (SARS) tax collection appear to have now compelled SARS to actively initiate the arrest and prosecution of taxpayers who do not accurately declare their taxable income. For long time, it has been warned that SARS possesses third-party information from banks, financial institutions, estate agents, car dealerships etc., enabling them to identify those who are not declaring their income correctly.

Landing in a position of indebtedness to South African Revenue Service (SARS) can be quite a stressful journey on its own; if forgetting to leave room for crypto profits or gain, in your suitcase, the destination becomes all that more daunting.

The draft tax law amendment published in August and targeting foreign employers has inadvertently led to an uproar amongst South African remote workers who fear the law change may disincentivise foreign employers from retaining the services of South African talent.

All taxpayers should arrange their tax affairs to obtain the best advantage and to pay the least amount of tax. This is a right every taxpayer possesses, and well entrenched in South African and international tax law. However, this planning must be done within the constraints of what the law allows.

South Africa remains a hot spot for remote work. On the one hand, digital nomads and remote workers with foreign employers get to enjoy the South African lifestyle, good weather, and the luxury of earning Dollars and Pounds. On the other, foreign companies benefit from employing skilled South Africans, comparatively cheaper than their foreign counterparts, and without the burden of adhering to South African tax compliance regulations.

On 31 July 2023, National Treasury released their annual draft tax law amendments, for public comment. Although still at the draft stage, there are some pertinent proposed changes for which the supporting systems have already been implemented i.e., the “Beneficial Ownership Registers”.

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.

Expatriate tax is complex, intricate and can be challenging to understand – especially if one does not have the basics, such as what is an expat, down pat. Simply, an expatriate, or expat, is an individual who has relocated from their home country to another, either temporarily or permanently.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has been hinting at introducing a wealthy individual “specific asset” disclosure for some time – and it is finally here! As of the commencement of the 2023 Tax filing season, individuals holding assets valued at R50 million or more now need to provide a “high level” disclosure to SARS.

If you hold “beneficial ownership” in relation to a company, you should already be aware of the new “beneficial ownership register” functionality now on the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC)’s e-services platform.