10 KEY CHANGES The President has given effect to the 2020 tax proposals by signing three tax Acts into law. On 15 January 2021, the President gave his assent to the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act No. 22 of 2020 (“Rates Act”), the Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 23 of…
The days where SARS shuts its eyes to taxpayers’ offshore holdings are thing of the past. SARS is finally utilising the Automatic Exchange of Information regime to pin down taxpayers who have not disclosed their offshore interests and numerous taxpayers have already received some alarming notices to this effect. The notice The notice informs the…
South Africans living or working abroad can no longer avoid the long arm of SARS. Under pressure to meet its revenue quotas, the tax authority has started auditing the country’s non-compliant expatriates in earnest. “We have been warning expatriates that this was coming and now that it’s here, the time for hiding one’s head in…
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1 March 2021 marks a watershed for retirement funds in South Africa, says Jean du Toit, attorney and head of tax technical at Tax Consulting South Africa. Most are focussed on the annuitisation rules that have been pending since 1 March 2015, otherwise known as ‘T-day’. While these reforms…
As a South Africa working and living abroad, there is nothing more frustrating than incessant delays on applications for new and/or renewals of South African Government-issued documentation (referred to as “Civic services”). The delays are often attributed to a lack of robust digital privacy and security protocols in place, with Government departments moving at a…
On 13 October 2020, National Treasury and SARS published their responses on the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“TLAB”), which included potential relief for South African expatriates who were unable to leave South Africa owing to the Covid-19 lockdown. This relief provided for reduced days in terms of the requirements of the foreign employment exemption,…
The protracted lockdown in South Africa resulted in the Department of Home Affairs (“DHA”) offering limited emergency services. South African citizens and permanent residents seeking Civic Services such as unabridged birth and marriage certificates were left frustrated as existing applications were indefinitely delayed. Even now that Civic Services have resumed post-lockdown, the backlog has created…
National Treasury has responded to some of the key changes proposed in its Draft Tax Law Amendment Bill (TLAB) and Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (Draft TALAB) – including questions around emigration and harsher punishments for taxpayers. Treasury was responding to submissions on the new bills alongside the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in…
South African expatriates who were unable to leave South Africa on account of the lockdown will be relieved to learn that the requirements of the foreign employment exemption (Section10(1)(o)(ii)) will be relaxed. On 13 October 2020, National Treasury and SARS published their draft Response Document on the latest tax Bills, wherein the unexpected proposal was…
South Africans who have emigrated or plan to permanently leave South Africa have until 28 February 2021, just over four months from now, to effect financial emigration. National Treasury has laid down the new law and made it clear – the consequence otherwise is your retirement money will be locked in for three years, you…
