Pretoria – Julius Malema is seeking to delay a sequestration case brought against him by the SA Revenue Service (Sars), the High Court in Pretoria heard on Monday. Malema’s legal team brought an application asking for the matter to be postponed because he wanted to reverse an admission of liability, which he signed last year during negotiations with Sars.
Category: Court Cases
Applications to rescind a judgment secured by SARS by way of filing a statement with clerk
The judgment reported as Kakodia v CSARS (2013) 75 SATC 313 (KNHC) is a decision of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in which the applicant taxpayer unsuccessfully applied to court for rescission of a “default judgment” granted against him in terms of section 114(1)(a)(ii) of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964. The judgment was in respect of an alleged underpayment of customs duty and value-added tax amounting to R171 731.
Interpreting a judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal – C:SARS v South African Custodial Services (Pty) Ltd 74 SATC 61 (SCA)
The South Gauteng Tax Court has recently had to make a determination of the effect of a direction given in a judgment handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal in referring an assessment back to the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service for correction. The matter that was heard by the SCA (C:SARS v South African Custodial Services (Pty) Ltd 74 SATC 61 (SCA)) had principally been concerned with whether improvements made to State property in terms of a public-private partnership constituted trading stock of the taxpayer. The costs incurred by the taxpayer had been claimed as a deduction on the basis that they were part of the cost of construction. Included in these costs were costs in respect of certain financial arrangements.
Sars guns for Krejcir manager
Money Point business manager Ivan Savov, accused of fraud and money laundering, appears in the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court. Picture: Werner Beukes/SAPA Johannesburg – Czech businessman Radovan Krejcir’s Money Point business manager Ivan Savov has been accused of fraud by Sars, the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court heard on Tuesday.The SA Revenue Service’s allegations are separate from those of fraud and money laundering Savov is already facing with three co-accused.Prosecutor Richard Chabalala said: “After the matter against (Savov), Sars opened three other dockets of fraud, alleging Savov and
Firms seeking tax benefits face legal repercussions
THE tax consequences of decisions made in the boardroom have been highlighted in some recent court cases, where judgments were made against parties who had entered into transactions that were motivated by the potential tax benefits it would bring rather than the profits they would generate. A judgment laid down in the case of ABC vs the South African Revenue Service (SARS) heard in the Western Cape Tax Court last year reiterated the importance of paying attention to the details of a transaction as reflected in the financial statements, including related taxes. ABC acquired land with a forest on it and carried on forestry activities on the land. It then sold the land together with the forest for a specific amount, of which R144.7m related to the forest. The question before the court was whether the R144.7m should be included in ABC’s gross income.
On South African tax compliance, tax morality and taxpayers’ freedom to do tax planning – Canada, Ireland and South Africa are not worlds apart
The upcoming Budget Speech comes against the backdrop of a depressing South African growth rate, stubbornly high unemployment, a depreciating Rand (with more US tapering still to come), continued strikes in the mining sector, deadly service delivery protests and declining tax revenues. On a more positive note: In November 2013 Minister Gordhan pointed to the continued growth in tax compliance by South Africans and said: “… the ability to collect tax revenue …to finance the provision of public services and socioeconomic infrastructure has been a cornerstone of our democracy these 20 years.”
Sars takes on South African billionaire
Pretoria – South African billionaire Mark Krok’s local assets, worth R298m, were placed under curatorship by the North Guateng High Court in Pretoria on Friday. The SA Revenue Service (Sars) obtained a final preservation order against the businessman. Judge Hans Fabricius confirmed a provisional preservation order granted in February last year against Krok’s South African assets. The assets include a large portfolio of shares in JSE-listed companies such as African Bank, BHP Billiton, Bidvest, First Rand, MTN, Vodacom, Sasol, SABMiller, and Tsogo Sun. They also include a plot in Plettenberg Bay, a R40m property in Clifton and a Jeep Sahara.
Shauwn Mpisane: More than 100 tax fraud charges withdrawn
Durban tender queen Shauwn Mpisane has walked out of the Durban Regional Court a free woman after the state withdrew more than 100 tax fraud charges against her. Mpisane, the owner of Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport, was charged with defrauding the SA Revenue Service of R4.7 million by submitting false VAT invoices, but applied to National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Mxolisi Nxasana to have the case withdrawn over prosecutorial misconduct. This morning Nxasana was at court for the hearing, at which prosecutor Arno Rossouw told Magistrate Blessing Msane that he had been instructed to withdraw the case in terms of Section 6 (b) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Poorly drafted and implemented tax planning arrangements: rectification v “grin and bear it"?
CIR v Sunnyside Centre (Pty) Ltd 1997(1) SA 68 (A) clearly stated that South African taxpayers must sleep in the (contractual) beds they make: “When a scheme works, no tears are shed for the Commissioner. That is because a taxpayer is entitled to order his affairs so as to pay the minimum of tax. When he arranges them so as to attract more than the minimum he has to grin and bear it.”
The Davis Tax Committee – Where Are We At, and What Lies Ahead?
It was, in part, this question which lay behind the appointment of a tax review committee in South Africa on 17 July 2013. At a recent dialogue facilitated by professional services firm Deloitte, Judge Dennis Davis, the Chairman of the Davis Tax Committee, for the first time revealed some of the background to the committee’s work and progress to date. As National Leader for Taxation Services at Deloitte, Nazrien Kader pointed out, “it has been nearly two decades since the Katz Commission undertook such a review in South Africa and global and local developments since have brought the applicability of our tax system under the spotlight.”