For some time now there has been a shortage of accommodation for tertiary students in South Africa. Developers have seen the gap in the market and have started building apartment buildings to provide housing to students. The typical arrangement works as follows: The owner of the building rents individual apartments to the students for a period of 10 months a year. The apartments come with beds and tables. There is a communal kitchen, a laundry facility, and a lounge area with a TV and Wi-Fi. Sometimes the owners let the buildings to tertiary institutions who, in turn, let the apartments to the students.
Author: Nyasha Musviba
Green, greener, greenest – a ruling on section 12K of the Income Tax Act
The recent announcement by Eskom that it would reconsider its position on the use of renewable energy has caught the attention of many in the renewable energy industry. The Income Tax Act, No 58 of 1962 (Act) contains a number of tax incentives which are available to participants in the renewable energy industry, including the exemption of certified emission reductions (CERs), contained in s12K of the Act. On 9 June 2016, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) issued Binding Class Ruling 053 (Ruling), which deals with the application of s12K of the Act in the context of a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. The parties to the Ruling are a non-profit association of green energy producers (Applicant), the project developer and sponsor of the registration of the CDM project with the Executive Board of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Project Developer) and the owners of the Read More …
Empowerment: an interesting ruling regarding a BEE transaction
In 2016, the BEE regulatory landscape has seen a number of changes introduced. These include the final regulations that were issued under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, No 53 of 2003 (BBBEE Act), the release of the Black Industrialists Policy and the publication of draft regulations to the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, No 5 of 2000 (PPPFA). In light of these developments, it is fitting to discuss Binding Private Ruling 241 (Ruling) dealing with an award received for a BEE training initiative, which was issued by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on 13 June 2016 and with a number of aspects in the Income Tax Act, No 58 of 1962 (Act).
The European Commission upsets the Apple cart
On 30 August 2016, the European Commission (EC) issued a press release in which it announced that Ireland, a member of the European Union (EU), gave illegal tax benefits to certain companies in the Apple group worth up to €13 billion. The EC found that Ireland had contravened the “EU state aid rules because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other businesses. Ireland must now recover the illegal aid”.
Don’t be taken by surprise: Exchange control rulings and manual replaced
This Circular effectively replaces the current exchange control rulings and exchange control manual, which have been in existence since 2005, with two currency and exchanges manuals and two currency and exchanges guideline documents. The exchange control rulings are replaced by: the currency and exchanges manual for authorised dealers; and the currency and exchanges manual for authorised dealers in foreign exchange with limited authority (Manuals).
Cars, taxable supplies and input VAT – what says the law?
In our current day and age where convenience is key, it is common for businesses to deliver purchased goods to their clients. For such businesses, especially those who specialise in providing delivery and logistical services, it is important to note the applicable VAT considerations when purchasing a vehicle. In RTCC v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (VAT 1345) [2016] ZATC 5 (28 July 2016), the Tax Court had to determine whether input tax could be claimed by the taxpayer, a close corporation which carried on business in the courier industry, on the purchase of a vehicle that it used to make taxable supplies.
BEPS involving interest in the banking and insurance sectors
In October 2015, the OECD BEPS Action 4 Report on Limiting Base Erosion Involving Interest Deductions and Other Financial Payments (Report) was released setting out a common approach to address BEPS involving interest and payments economically equivalent to interest. The Report included a ‘fixed ratio rule’ which limits an entity’s net interest deductions to a set percentage of its tax earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (tax EBITDA) and a ‘group ratio rule’ which permits an entity to claim higher net interest deductions, based on the financial ratio of its worldwide group.
Funding for small and medium-sized enterprises
The Venture Capital Company (VCC) Tax Regime was introduced into the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (Act) to encourage investment into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and junior mining companies. Since its inception in 2008 and despite subsequent amendments in 2011, there has been limited take-up in the market, with only a handful of VCC funds having become fully funded and operational.
When debt and creativity meet – a recent Tax Court decision
In the current tough economic times, it is common for companies to consider alternative funding arrangements to fund their activities, which minimise their cash flow obligations to third parties in the short term, while also ensuring that they comply with the relevant tax legislation and utilise it to their advantage. One option to consider in this regard, is the creation of a loan account by a debtor in favour of a creditor. In CLDC v The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (VAT1247) [2016] ZATC 6 (5 September 2016), handed down by the Tax Court on 5 September 2016, the court had to deal with this issue and specifically the consequences of s22(3) of the Value-Added Tax Act. No 89 of 1991 (VAT Act).
OECD branches out – proposing BEPS Action 2 (neutralising the effects of hybrid mismatch arrangements) recommendations to tackle branch mismatch structures
On 22 August 2016 the OECD released Public Discussion Draft: BEPS Action 2 – Branch Mismatch Structures (Discussion Draft), which identifies and analyses mismatches that may arise through the use of branch structures. The Discussion Draft sets out preliminary recommendations for domestic rules, based on those proposed in the OECD’s Final Report on BEPS Action 2 – Neutralising the Effects of Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements (2015 Final Hybrids Report), which will hopefully neutralise the mismatches in tax outcomes arising from the exploitation of branch structures. To contextualise the Discussion Draft, it is necessary to summarise briefly the BEPS risks that BEPS Action 2 seeks to address.