Venture capital: A sensible investment?

By Ingé Lamprecht Despite sizeable potential returns and tax benefits associated with specific venture capital investments, individuals (and even institutional) investors seem to be somewhat reluctant to put their money into this asset class.Erika van der Merwe, chief executive officer of the South African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA), says there is a degree of frustration amongst venture capital members, that there is no institutional investment in this asset class.

Taxation of government grants

Generally, government grants or subsidies under incentive programmes have always been exempt from income tax in the hands of the recipient. However, some subsidies or grants were indeed taxable and the tax legislation lacked overall policy direction. This often led to confusion about the nature of the receipt.

SARS eyes global companies' tax structures

Multinationals based in SA – particularly in the mining, automotive, pharmaceutical and finance sectors – will need to pay special attention to taxes. The South African Revenue Service (Sars) said this week that it plans to increase its scrutiny of multinationals when it comes to tax compliance, particularly with regard to transfer pricing and double taxation, which it has identified as a problem.