Whilst it is good and proper that we should enjoy life and make the most of every opportunity that life presents us with, it is also a fact of life that the mortality rate for all of us is still at 100%. Getting your affairs in order before you die, or otherwise referred to as […]
In recent years, many South Africans have availed themselves of the opportunity to diversify a portion of their investment portfolio offshore. With political uncertainty and tough local economic headwinds, this offshore investment exposure has become rather significant for those South Africans with any sort of significant wealth. With offshore asset diversification comes a whole new […]
Special mention was made of the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (SVDP) or amnesty v3 in the 2017 budget speech. Pravin Gordhan mentioned that to date SARS has received applications totaling R3,8bn in assets which will yield revenues of about R600m. He also waxed lyrical about the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities around the […]
On the 22nd February 2017, Pravin Gordhan will be presenting his 2nd budget in his 2nd stint as Finance Minister. Time will tell as to whether it will his swansong budget speech, hopefully recent reports of renewed shenanigans within the government come to naught. It is no secret that to appease the rating agencies, who […]
We are now officially into the into the 2016/17 amnesty application period, or the Special Voluntary Disclosure Program (SVDP) as the authorities prefer to name it. This SVDP is open to South African resident individuals and companies. Settlors, donors and beneficiaries of foreign discretionary trusts may elect to apply in their individual capacities. The South […]
We have known for quite a while that government is not at all fond of trusts and the manner in which they allow wealth to be efficiently transferred from one generation to the next. This dislike has manifested itself in a number of ways. Trusts are taxed at a flat rate equivalent to the top […]
On the 8th July 2016 National Treasury released the much anticipated Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (TLAB). Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his February budget speech had made some pretty scary remarks about where he wanted legislation to go as pertaining to trusts. The TLAB gives us a window as to exactly where that legislation is […]
In 1986, Billy Joel released his classic song, It’s a Matter of Trust. At that time of life and business, trust practitioners were extremely busy and in great demand. There were significant tax advantages to be had by having a trust, or better still a whole group of trusts. Entrepreneurs and the wealthy were sold […]
Bob Dylan penned his classic hit song “Times They Are a Changing” in 1963, one year after South Africa’s current Income Tax Act was first passed as legislation. Since then, through the annual budget regulatory taxation laws process, this act has been amended and changed over the last 53 years. Bob Dylan’s song has stood […]
