The South African income tax system is not cash-based. This means that a person can effectively be taxed on amounts that they have not yet received in cash, but that merely accrued to them within a year of assessment. Cash
Taxpayers’ right to have disputes resolved
In a recent Tax Court decision[1], the Tax Court confirmed that taxpayers have a right to have their disputes resolved in a court of law as enunciated in section 34 of the Constitution. However, they cannot rely on this right
SARS scams
Education and awareness around identity theft, phishing and other frauds have become part of life globally. If nothing else, scamsters are innovative and keep trying new avenues of defrauding businesses and individuals. In South Africa, this is no exception, and
Recent court case on the imposition of understatement penalties
The Supreme Court of Appeal (“ZASCA”) delivered a judgment[1] on 26 February 2019 on the imposition of understatement penalties as provided for in the Tax Administration Act[2]. In this case, the taxpayer paid provisional income tax (“IT”) of R13.8 million
Thinking of selling an asset?
What happens when you sell an asset? When you sell or dispose of an asset, you either realise a profit or a loss from the exchange. When you realise a profit, you are subject to pay capital gains tax (CGT)
Section 24 – credit agreements and debtors’ allowances
Section 24(1) of the Income Tax Act[1] deals with an agreement between a taxpayer and another person in respect of movable or immovable property. In the case of immovable property, the effect of the agreement must be that transfer of
Requests for suspension of payment from SARS
Since its introduction, the “pay now, argue later” rule relating to disputed amounts of tax has been and remains to be the subject of much controversy, and rightfully so. The basic premise is that even though you disagree with an
Fixed and reimbursive travel allowances
When determining the best remuneration package for travelling employees, South African employers and employees are continuously considering the benefits between a travel allowance, a reimbursive travel allowance or both. For this purpose, the employees’ tax (“PAYE’’) and income tax consequences
Zero-rating of services to non-residents
South African value-added tax (VAT) vendors are often unsure of the tax consequences of issuing invoices to foreign customers or clients and whether such services should be invoiced at the standard rate of 15% or be zero-rated. As is generally
Tax implications of the variation of employment contracts
On 6 November 2018, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) issued a binding private ruling (“BPR 312”) in accordance with sections 78(1) and 87(2) of the Tax Administration Act.[1] This ruling set out the tax implications of varying employment contracts.