Category: Tax Administration

Budget too good to be true – opposition parties

Nyasha Musviba

  Cape Town – Mixed reaction greeted the country’s mini budget framework, with opposition parties saying they were discouraged and the ruling party expressing satisfaction. The MPs spoke to reporters on the steps of the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan tabled the mini budget. Democratic Alliance MP Tim Harris said the speech was full of reassuring rhetoric, but not nearly bold enough in tackling serious economic problems. “He speaks a lot about backing the NDP [National Development Plan], but then doesn’t table any of the practical measures that the NDP talks about, like active labour market policies, labour reform and removing trade barriers,” Harris said. “Without that action, I don’t think we’re going to make progress on stimulating growth, and currently we are growing at about two percent and this is half the rate of Turkey, Chile and Malaysia.”

Tax Admistration Act – Jurisdiction of the courts

Nyasha Musviba

When litigating against SARS, it is of critical importance that the taxpayer institute proceedings in the proper forum. In this regard, an important question arises as to which issues are justiciable in the Tax Court and which in the High Court. A wrong decision by the taxpayer and his advisers may have the consequence that time limits to bring proceedings in the correct court have expired, and that the taxpayer is left without a remedy.

Tax Adminstration Act No 28 of 2011 – Tax Litigation

Nyasha Musviba

Tax litigators will now have to consider, inter alia, the impact of certain provisions under the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011 (the TAA) as amended by the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act No. 21 of 2012 on the doctrine of legal professional privilege and a recent judgment reflecting the view of a court with regards to the adherence to the rules of the Tax Court by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

International Tax – Mutual Assistance between South Africa and UK DTA

Nyasha Musviba

In the recent case of Ben Nevis (Holdings) Limited & Metlika Trading Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) [2013] EWCA, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales considered the interpretation of the mutual assistance provisions in the double tax agreement (DTA) between the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa (SA).

South Africa Tax Statistics 2013

Nyasha Musviba

Author: SARS Legal and Policy The National Treasury and SARS jointly publish tax statistics annually. These aggregated statistics are compiled from SARS’s registers of taxpayers and from tax returns. These statistics complement other published social and economic data. The statistics are finding wide use within government, business, academia and non-governmental organisations.

Applications For Winding Up Pending Objection Or Appeal

Nyasha Musviba

Author: Heinrich Louw (CliffeDekkerHofmeyr) An interesting judgment was handed down in the North Gauteng High Court on 3 October 2013 in the matter of Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v Miles Plant Hire (Pty) Ltd (case no 23533/2013). Miles Plant Hire (Pty) Ltd (taxpayer) was involved in a dispute with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in terms of which an appeal was pending.

Shuttleworth V The South African Reserve Bank

Nyasha Musviba

Author: Alastair Morphet (CliffeDekkerHofmeyr) Mr Shuttleworth famously sold his shares in Thawte, which earned him a substantial amount of money. He subsequently decided to emigrate from the Republic and to transfer all of his remaining assets out of the country. The South African Reserve Bank imposed a 10% levy on his South African assets as a condition for permission under the Exchange Control Regulations to transfer his assets out of the country. He subsequently approached the North Gauteng High Court to set aside the decision of the Reserve Bank to impose the 10% levy.