Although old news to some, there still seems to be little awareness regarding the interplay between value-added tax (VAT) and transfer duty, and the benefits stemming from the ‘not so recent’ amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act No. 89 of 1991 (the Act), as applicable to fixed property acquired by a VAT vendor from a non-vendor on or after 10 January 2012.
Category: VAT
VAT – Tax Invoice
South Africa operates a value-added tax (VAT) system whereby the VAT charged by suppliers is subtracted from the VAT charged to customers to calculate the VAT payable or refundable. This system was established to relieve the trader entirely of the burden of the VAT payable or paid in the course of all his economic activities.
Tax Administration Act – Suspension of payment of tax
Any taxpayer who wishes to object to or appeal against an assessment issued by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) must be aware that their obligation to pay any tax under that assessment is not automatically suspended by virtue of the submission of the objection or appeal itself. Any taxpayer who wishes for an objection or appeal to first be concluded before paying the tax due under an assessment would have to lodge a separate request for suspension of payment of tax in terms of section 164 of the Tax Administration Act No. 28 of 2011 (the TAA).
Ringo’s R1.5m ‘tax fraud’
Afro soul musician Ringo Madlingozi could face up to 15 years in jail or a hefty fine if he is found guilty of tax fraud and theft, said a tax lawyer on Sunday. Madlingozi allegedly hasn’t been paying his employees’ Pay As You Earn (PAYE) to SARS, but has been deducting it from their salaries since 1999. He reportedly owes SARS R1.5m in PAYE and R421693 in VAT. A charge sheet, which The New Age has seen, shows that the star has been hit with more than 40 charges of theft by SARS. He appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and is expected to be back in court on 9 January 2014.
Income Tax Deductions v Value-Added Tax Deductions
Broadly speaking, in their ordinary business operations, certain entities are entitled to claim certain deductions for income tax and value-added tax (“VAT”) purposes. In this article we discuss the tests used by South African courts and in practice, for income tax and VAT purposes, in order to determine whether a taxpayer will be entitled to such deductions. Consideration will be given specifically to the deduction of legal expenses incurred by a taxpayer in terms of section 11(c) of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 (“Income Tax Act”) and the deduction of input tax in respect thereof in terms of section 1 read with section 7 of the Value-Added Tax Act No. 89 of 1991 (the “VAT Act”).
Taxpayer – choose your weapon carefully
The Pretoria Tax Court made an interesting ruling in Income Tax Case No 1866 75 SATC 268.Section 32(1) of the Value-Added Tax Act, No 89 of 1991 (VAT Act) states that the following decisions of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) are subject to objection and appeal, namely:
Taxpayer's rights on SARS audits
The Tax Administration Act, Act 28 of 2011 (the TAA) came into effect on 1 October 2012. Its promulgation brought with it many changes to not only taxpayers’ rights and obligations but the reciprocal rights and obligations on the part of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in its continuous business of revenue collection. Some of the amendments and repeals of sections previously contained in the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 (the Act) have seen a welcome improvement in taxpayers’ rights. One of these improvements is contained in section 42 of the TAA.
VAT Rules in SA to be Updated for Internet Age
Author: Ruan Jooste (BDlive) Proposals to amend value-added tax (VAT) legislation to include electronic services and products supplied by international firms to South African consumers are under way. VAT laws in South Africa are not written to cater for digital transactions, such as online downloads of movies, music, games or access to content in the cloud (an internet-based storage mechanism).
VAT Registration of Foreign e-commerce Suppliers
National Treasury released a tax bill in October 2013, following the Budget Speech in February and draft tax legislation on 4 July 2013, proposing changes to the VAT Act to require VAT registration of certain local and foreign suppliers of electronic services where consumption takes place in South Africa. In terms of the tax bill, local and foreign suppliers of electronic services will be required to register for VAT purposes where the services are supplied from a place in an export country and where a SA resident receives these services.
A Custom(ised) VAT Analysis
Author: Ross Robertson (Norton Rose Fulbright) A recent decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal has attracted a significant amount of attention. The court dismissed an appeal by a licensed foreign exchange dealer, Master Currency, against a revised value-added tax (VAT) assessment for two of its branches in the duty-free area at OR Tambo International Airport. Historically, the company had assumed that no VAT was chargeable as it was operating the branches in the duty-free area of the airport, which it considered to be located outside the Republic. The South African Revenue Service (SARS) disagreed with the taxpayer’s interpretation of a “duty-free area”, stating that the fees received by the two branches