VAT concerns during the temporary letting of property
The VAT Act makes provision for the supply of residential fixed property by a VAT vendor (being a property developer) to be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 15%. The property developer has to charge VAT on the sale of the residential fixed property. Depending on market conditions, residential fixed property developers are […]
Home office expenses: Do I qualify?
Tax practitioners have been inundated with queries from clients on the possible relief offered by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) on the possibility of deducting from their taxable income home office expenses due to the shift in working policies by many employers. SARS recently hosted a webinar on the matter (the summary of which […]
Changes to assessed losses are on the way
In line with the 2020 Budget Announcement, Government proposes to broaden the corporate income tax base by restricting the offset of the balance of assessed losses carried forward to 80% of taxable income. The proposal extends to the balance of assessed losses at the time of implementation, i.e. it is not only the accumulation of […]
Personal liability of directors of non-profit organisations
I am a director of an NPO. Can I be held liable in my personal capacity for damages caused by or debt incurred by the organisation? I thought that I was doing something good. What does it mean to carry on business recklessly? Can I be held accountable if I knew about dodgy transactions but it was not my signature on the […]
Proposed legislative change: Tax benefit for learnership agreements: Extension to 2024
The Learnership Tax Incentive, which was introduced in the Income Tax Act on 1 October 2001, is a programme that supports skills intensity through the tax system. To encourage skills development and job creation, the Learnership Tax Incentive provides employers with an additional tax deduction over and above the normal deduction on remuneration. The additional […]
SARS verifications, audits – When, why and what to do
Being selected for an audit and being selected for verification are two different processes. Verification: Once you have submitted your return, it could be selected for verification. A verification involves a comparison of the information per your return against the financial records and other supporting documents to ensure that the information completed on the return is correct. […]
Barter transactions: What is the tax cost of my asset?
Barter transactions are commonplace in today’s commercial environment. Parties exchange goods or services without a cash transaction underpinning it. The question is, “What happens when I sell the asset in future? Do I have a tax cost for it?” Paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act refers to ‘the expenditure actually incurred in respect of the cost […]
SARS rules that students do not qualify as employees
In a Binding Private Ruling issued on 6 July 2021, SARS has made strict ruling on an Employment Tax Incentive Act (ETI) scheme that has been doing the rounds. It is not often that negative rulings get published and it is therefore a unique situation that should serve as a warning to those participating in […]
Primary residence exclusion: Things to look out for
The Eighth Schedule of the Income Tax Act, which deals with capital gain tax, allows for exclusion from liability on any gains realised on the sale by a taxpayer of a primary residence on the first R2 million of such gains. There are, however, several more complex matters that often arise in the determination of any gain, and we examine some of those in more […]
How to minimise your business’s risk of internal crime
Every now and then a new news story is published of an employee who steals a great sum of money from the company they work for. Most businesses aren’t at risk of losing millions through employee theft, but theft of smaller amounts is more common than would be evident from reading the daily headlines. Protecting your business […]