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…
This year has been a journey into unchartered waters for us all, and a particularly tense time as far as South African expatriates are concerned. For many expats, more and more questions have been left unanswered as this filing season, and the current tax year begins to draw to a close. One thing, however, is…
The time for South Africans who consider emigrating to learn their fate around their pensions is drawing closer. We have come a long way since publication of the draft tax Bills on 31 July this year, and on 7 October 2020, the Standing Committee on Finance (“the Committee”) heard oral submissions on the proposed tax…
A number of tax and financial groups have issued warnings over a new draft bill which will introduce changes for South Africans looking to take their retirement funds out of the country. Under the current system, members of preservation funds and retirement annuity funds may withdraw from such funds if they formally emigrate from South…
“Expats who follow shady advice to deregister as taxpayers with SARS will suffer in the long run,” says Jonty Leon, Legal Manager (Expatriate Tax) at Tax Consulting SA. This follows reports that some tax advisors are directing their expatriate clients to deregister with SARS to avoid paying tax on their non-exempt foreign income. According to…
A STEP CLOSER TO RETIREMENT REFORM IN SA AND IMMEDIATE 3-YEAR LOCKUP The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“TLAB”) was published on 31 July 2020. As announced in the Budget Speech, any South African leaving in future will be subject to a much stricter process from 1 March 2021 onwards. But there was also a…
SARS’ announcement that it has started auto-assessing certain taxpayers may lead some people to believe they no longer need to worry about their tax submissions. This is not the case, according to Thamsanqa Msiza, Head of Individual Tax Returns at Tax Consulting South Africa. “The onus still lies with the taxpayer to ensure all information…
The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“TLAB”) was published on 31 July 2020 and with it comes an overhaul of the regime for taking your retirement funds abroad. In terms of the proposed amendments, expatriation of these benefits will be subject to a much stricter process from 1 March 2021 onwards. Current position Under the…
FOR SARS ON CRIMINAL TAX OFFENSES The new Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (“TALAB”), released on 31 July 2020, proposes a law change that will effectively lower the threshold for SARS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to criminally prosecute taxpayers. The Proposed Amendment The proposed amendment is directed at paragraph 30 of the…
