Tag: Webber Wentzel

If South African tax were a fable, it would feature three enduring characters: the weary taxpayer, the watchful SARS, and the elusive concept known as certainty. All three appear in our legislation, but only one consistently shows up in practice - SARS.

Africa sits at a crossroads. The continent is rich in natural resources, faces growing energy demand and urgently needs modern infrastructure. Yet translating this potential into sustainable, long-term development is rarely straightforward. For developers, oil and gas operators, governments and financiers, success depends on more than mere resource availability.

Short-term rentals have become a topical and sometimes contentious issue, particularly in the City of Cape Town. Recent media reports show that listings in Cape Town exceed many international cities, including San Francisco and Sydney. Inside Airbnb, a non-profit data project, reported approximately 26,304 active listings in Cape Town as of 25 June 2025.

On 6 August 2025, the cabinet approved the National Water Amendment Act to be tabled at Parliament. This will mark the third amendment to the National Water Act, 1998. The first amendment was in 1999, and the second in 2014. Across South Africa, the government is keenly aware of the issues facing the water sector and is taking decisive action.

National Treasury has proposed three major amendments affecting portfolios of Collective Investment Schemes (CISs) in the draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2025 (TLAB). The National Treasury’s vicious crackdown aims to close several tax loopholes and strengthen compliance within the CIS framework.

The Supreme Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Assmang (Pty) Ltd vs The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has sent a clear and sobering message to taxpayers. In tax law, substance always trumps form. While this principle is not new, its application in the context of diesel refunds highlights the immense peril taxpayers face. The Assmang diesel refund case illustrates this danger vividly.

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has highlighted that over the last decade, water infrastructure and supply services have deteriorated. South Africa’s water sector is now in crisis, highlighting the urgent need for strengthening water supply.

In meeting its policy commitments and addressing regulatory challenges posed by the rising prominence of non-bank payment operations, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) published two draft documents in the first quarter of 2025. In their policy document, colloquially referred to as Vision 2025, the SARB presents its vision for modernising South Africa’s National Payment System (NPS).

The Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL) has published the Employment Equity Regulations, 2025 under the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA), as amended. This was published together with the notice identifying national economic sectors and determining the sectoral numerical targets, effective from 15 April 2025.

A recent Labour Court judgment confirms that where employers fail to properly address grievances or mitigate the cause of an employee’s complaint, a constructive dismissal claim may succeed. In Makombe vs Cape Conference of the Seventh Day Adventists and Others, the Labour Court found that a pastor employed by the Cape Conference of Seventh Day Adventists (Cape Conference) experienced constructive dismissal.