Taxes

There really is no specific definition of ‘Independent Contractor’.  According to the common law, the concept is merely another word for “Entrepreneur” or “Employer”, whereas according to the South African law traditionally, it refers to contract of locatio conductio operis. This term includes three types of transactions namely; The letting…

Registering a company with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) automatically gets you registered with the South African Revenue Services (SARS) for Income Tax purposes. This means that your company is now a registered taxpayer and therefore is obliged by law to submit an Income Tax return.  SARS classifies…

VAT Introduction and Registration Process If you are a person who carries on an enterprise and looking for efficient ways your business can pay less tax and also claim back tax on expenses incurred while carrying on trade, then this might be for you.  The Value Added Tax Act defines…

A Medical Scheme Fees Tax Credit (MTC) is a rebate which, in itself, is non-refundable, but which is used to reduce the normal tax a person pays.  The MTC applies to fees paid by a taxpayer to a registered medical scheme (or similar fund outside South Africa) for that taxpayer and any…

A travel allowance is “any allowance paid, or advance given to an employee in respect of travelling expenses for business purposes.” The general position is that private travel is taxable and business travel is not taxable.  Fundamentally, the legislative framework makes provision for two scenarios –  A travel allowance given to…

A Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) is a section 21 (Companies Act) company, a trust, or an association of persons; of which the sole object is to carry on one or more “public benefit activities” in a non-profit manner; and carries on all (or substantially all) such activities in South Africa. …

A trust is defined as the legal relationship created by a person (the founder) who places assets under the control of another (the trustee) for the benefit of specified persons (beneficiaries) or for a specified purpose.  Any distribution to the beneficiaries of the trust must be made in accordance with…

In terms of section 7(1) of the share blocks control act, no 59 of 1980 (“the act”), the main object and business of a share block company are to operate a share block scheme in respect of immovable property owned or leased by it. In a share block scheme, individuals…

Provisional Tax is not a separate tax from income tax. It is a method of paying the income tax liability in advance, to ensure that the taxpayer does not have a large tax debt on assessment. The tax liability is spread over the relevant year of assessment where it requires…