Tax insights

On the 24th of October 2018, the National Treasury published new regulations for the purpose of “electronic services” as defined in Section 1 of the Value Added Tax Act (VAT) Act of 1991 but specifically relating to the supply of electronic services and which will come into effect from the 1st of April 2019.

There has been a significant change from previous wording, with the old section 11(j) being repealed and replaced by an entirely new section. While the rate of allowance was not defined in Section 11(j), based on SARS practice, 25% of the provision for bad debts was granted as an allowance.

In terms of the Tax Administration Act No.28 of 2011 (“TAA Act”), with specific reference to Sections 210 and 211, SARS can impose a fixed amount penalty where a taxpayer is non-compliant due to a failure to comply with an obligation imposed in terms of a tax act.

Global warming has become a topical issue across the world. The dying of marine life in the sea and dramatic temperature changes across the globe cannot go unnoticed. A lot has to be done to protect Mother Earth. Tax incentives are welcomed by companies as this will boost their after tax profits while at the same time help to save the environment.

Most taxpayers are not aware of the requirements for a tax refund to be facilitated and SARS very often will delay paying out the refund.

We all know that keeping track of your personal tax filing obligations can be difficult to track at times. To add to the complexity, it does not help that you could potentially be required to address filing obligations for 3 different tax years in one calendar year. We set out below the due dates for all tax return filings in a tax year:

International trading has become more and more customary for both individuals and companies, with imports and exports, as well as foreign investment becoming easier as the world becomes smaller with the help of internet, e-commerce, and so forth. This has led to more taxpayers having foreign currency assets and/or liabilities.

South African Revenue Services (“SARS”) in their Tax Laws Amendment Bill of 19 July 2017, supported by the Explanatory Memorandum thereto, acknowledged that a common mechanism used in practice by taxpayers to enable a debtor to settle a debt is for that debt to be converted into equity.

The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) issued a media release on 16 April 2018 where they advised that they have started, together with the National Prosecuting Authority (“NPA”), to prosecute non-compliant taxpayers who have failed to submit their returns. Taxpayers who are found guilty will have a criminal record.

Land expropriation without compensation is a controversial topic in South Africa. Proponents of this topic mention the following benefits, amongst others: