Tag: tax incentive

South Africa has a dedicated research and development (R&D) tax incentive regime which sets it apart from other African countries and enables South Africa to compete with similar regimes in developed countries. However, the future of this incentive is at risk.

Economic analysts recently reported that by August 2020 as many as half of South African small businesses had closed down due to the national lockdown. A more frightening statistic awaits our economy as, 6 months later, many more find themselves on the threshold of survival as the impact of the lockdown continues to distress small, medium and micro-businesses (SMMEs).

The global economy has been left winded and weak by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and governments the world over have a difficult task ahead. With the Minister of Finance delivering his much-anticipated 2021 National Budget this Wednesday (24 February 2021), one can’t help but reflect on what solutions need to be implemented to rebuild what was lost in 2020 because of the pandemic and years of low economic growth before then. Whatever the solutions, they need to be monumental and perhaps even radical in order to revive our economy.

Parliament has been warned of the risk of billions of Rands of capital investment leaving the country unless local investment incentives like those under Section 12J of the Income Tax Act are permitted to continue. Our presentation was made during the Select Committee of Finance’s public hearings on the TLAB, TALAB and Rates Bills.

If you’re ever feeling a little hard-done-by thanks to SARS, know this: Government has done an outstanding job of encouraging investment and stimulating job creation (COVID-19 aside) by introducing some really forward-thinking tax incentives.

Every year, when I start thinking about the annual Budget Speech, I wonder what is to come. Is this the year that the corporate tax rate will change? Maybe capital gains will finally be 100% taxable? Or something more low key, like an increase in the Securities Transfer Tax?

South Africa’s hotel development market, and specifically Cape Town’s, is showing astounding buoyancy despite a tough economy and the after-effects of the drought. Innovative ways of accommodating corporate and leisure travellers, such as ‘aparthotels’ or serviced apartment-style hotels, are quickly gaining momentum.

Innovative solutions such as active network sharing, tax incentives and new technology deployment can be the solution to achieving feasible rural connectivity in South Africa. Ordinarily, rolling out telecommunications network infrastructure is an expensive and arduous undertaking for both fixed and mobile phone companies.