Tax insights

The 1st of April 2019 marks a year since the introduction of the Health Promotion Levy on sugary beverages, or “sugar tax” levy as it is commonly referred to.

The Paris Agreement, which entered into force on 04 November 2016, is intended to be a comprehensive framework that will provide guidance in the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions and the future challenges that are likely to arise from climate change.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered his maiden Budget Speech on 20 February 2019. This comes at a time when the country is grappling with issues of unemployment, corruption, and distress in State Owned Enterprises.

The tax court recently ruled in the case of ABC (Pty) Ltd v The Commissioner for SARS on the application of section 24C of the Income Tax Act (ITA). The section allows a deduction for future expenditure in relation to any year of assessment by the taxpayer.

In the 2018 budget speech, the Finance Minister proposed a significant number of changes to address the revenue shortfall that the fiscus was facing. One of these proposals was to increase donations tax from 20% to 25% for any donations made by a resident in excess of R30 million. This change has been approved and comes into effect from 1 March 2018.

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There has been a significant change from previous wording, with the old section 11(j) being repealed and replaced by an entirely new section.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.