The decision of the Cape High Court in Barclay v Road Accident Fund [2012] (3) SA 94 (WCC) concerns the question whether, in quantifying damages for loss of earning capacity, the amount to be awarded to the claimant should be reduced to take account of the income tax that would have been payable if the claimant had received the amount by way of ordinary earnings, rather than as a lump-sum award of damages.
Tag: Tax Adminstration Act
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.
Sars’ bizarre decision in Shauwn Mpisane case
Tender queen’s company given a tax-clearance certificate by taxman despite state charges of tax fraud Shauwn Mpisane, Durban’s tender queen, has won a major battle to keep her business empire intact. She’s been awarded tax clearance by the SA Revenue Service (Sars). Mpisane is due back in court on Wednesday on tax fraud charges – charges brought against her by Sars. City Press can reveal that Mpisane’s Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport was awarded tax clearance on September 20, despite the court case, after repeated applications were refused by Sars officials in Durban. The clearance, which City Press has seen, is valid for a year. It states that Mpisane is in “good standing” with Sars and had not, as at that date, contravened the Income Tax Act or the Value Added Tax Act.
Employment Tax Bill is signed into law
The long-awaited Employment Tax Incentive Bill, to create jobs and provide relevant skills for young, unemployed South Africans has been signed into law. Employers will receive a tax incentive to employ young workers in special economic zones for a maximum of two years, under certain conditions. The law takes effect on January 1. Employers will be able to claim the incentive on a sliding scale for any employee between 18 and 29 who was hired on or after October 1 this year and is receiving a monthly salary that is above the relevant minimum wage and less than R6000 a month.
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:
Income protection policies: tax deduction for premiums to be abolished from 1 March 2015
Employees earning remuneration are generally prohibited from claiming tax deductions for any expenditure other than those items listed in section 23(m) of the Income Tax Act (58 of 1962). This is in contrast to persons carrying on a trade independently of an employer.
Tax Administration Act – Understatement penalty regime
The draft Taxation Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2013 (TALAB) was released by the South African Revenue Services (SARS) on 5 July 2013 for public comment. The TALAB proposes, amongst other things, that several amendments be made to the Tax Administration Act, No 28 of 2011 (the TAA) in respect of understatement penalties.
Sale of shares – capital v revenue
Background ITC 13003 [2013] involved the disposal of shares by a taxpayer and whether the proceeds realised constituted gross income and were of a revenue nature. The taxpayer happened to be a Special Purpose Vehicle and it was argued that the proceeds of the sale of shares were of a capital nature. There were also additional costs incurred which were closely associated with the acquisition of the shares in question. These costs incurred were the so-called ’equity-kicker’ and ‘indemnity costs’.
The remittance of administrative non-compliance penalties
Charl Hall, Tax Compliance Officer, Mazars In terms of the Tax Administration Act (TAA)Since the enactment of the Tax Administration Act (TAA) the South African Revenue Services (Sars) has tightened the screws to encourage taxpayer compliance. A number of new penalties are being introduced to ensure taxpayers are compliant and their tax affairs are in order. For taxpayers who have been charged with administrative non-compliance penalties, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as set out in Section 216 – 218 of the TAA. In this regard, there are three remittance scenarios that can apply to a taxpayer.