Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth’s bid to have South Africa’s entire exchange control system declared unconstitutional has failed. The North Gauteng High Court on Thursday dismissed Shuttleworth’s application to strike down the whole of section 9 of the Currency and Exchange Act and all of the Exchange Control Regulations as unconstitutional.
Category: GAAR
Binding private ruling on foreign asset-for-share transaction
On July 24 2013 the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released Binding Private Ruling 149, dealing with the disposal by a local company of foreign assets (shares) in exchange for shares in a foreign company. The applicant was a local company holding 100% of the issued shares in foreign Company A, which held the applicant’s various foreign investments.
Mutual assistance provisions in double tax agreement between United Kingdom and South Africa
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).
Connected Person Forex Rules To Provide Limited Protection
The current Income Tax rules that defer tax effects for related party debts and other exchange items are to be replaced with new, revised rules. The revised rules are generally narrower than the current rules and the replacement of the old rules will trigger both one-off and ongoing tax effects for many taxpayers, the majority of which, one suspects, are unaware of the consequences.
Fiscal residence – new Mauritius DTA provision modifies the test for companies
Recent news articles on international tax have focused heavily on the use by multinational companies of tax-friendly regimes through which to hold investments and to transact business. Heads of industry have been summoned to appear before legislators to explain their companies’ tax structures and transactions. Much has been made in the course of these discussions of the use of benefits afforded under tax treaties to mitigate exposure to tax. It is perhaps significant that these issues did not raise their head when economies were booming, and one may be forgiven for observing that there is an air of desperation in economies whose tax revenues have suffered from the economic downturn of the past few years and which now cast about for scapegoats.
South Africa’s tax treaty with the DRC provides a new avenue for international investment
The tax treaty entered into between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Africa provides opportunity to promote South Africa as a hub for inward investment into the DRC. The tax treaty provides multinational companies with alternative investment opportunities in the DRC.
Sars has increased powers under the Tax Administration Act
An overview The recently promulgated Tax Administration Act, No. 28 of 2011 (TAA) contains provisions that grant some dramatically increased powers to the South African Revenue Service (Sars). Tax recovery on behalf of foreign governments Section 185 of the TAA contains the measures available to Sars to recover tax on behalf of foreign governments. Broadly defined, the provisions of section 185 provide that revenue authorities of a foreign country (with which South Africa has a tax treaty) can request Sars to assist in the collection of foreign taxes due by a person to that country.
Busting tax fiddles
In recent years international lawyers and accountants have built a web of corporate opacity which has enabled tax avoidance and corruption on an alarming scale. Private financial wealth sitting on tax havens has grown to around US$ 21 trillion, of which $9trillion is from developing countries. Some minuscule jurisdictions, such as the Cayman Islands, have become the legal home to trillions of dollars of corporate assets, offering the unbeatable attractions of zero taxation plus secrecy. Some industries are now dominated by them: half the world’s shipping is registered there.
Expert gives assurance on SA, Mauritius tax deal
THE renegotiated double-taxation agreement between South Africa and Mauritius should not be a concern to any group that has structured its affairs properly, says Werksman tax head Ernest Mazansky. His comments come as South Africa has renegotiated its double-taxation agreement with Mauritius following earlier concerns by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Treasury that South African multinationals were abusing the current treaty, negotiated in 1996.
Year in Review – 2012 Tax Developments in South Africa
During 2012 a number of significant amendments were made to the tax legislation in South Africa. This report provides a brief description of certain of these amendments which may be of interest to foreign companies that conduct business in South Africa as well as those seeking investment opportunities in South Africa.