On Thursday, 19 November 2009, the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, Mr Oupa Magashula, was elected unanimously to act as the chairperson of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) at its inaugural conference in Kampala, Uganda. Mr Magashula will head up a 10-member general council comprising of the heads of tax administrations of the elected countries.

In addition, the conference also unanimously voted for South Africa to host the secretariat of the new African tax body.

This vote of confidence in South Africa and our Commissioner is proof of the important role that South Africa plays on the continent. South Africa, as a main founder, will ensure that Africa builds effective and efficient tax administrations that can contribute to the economic development of the continent.

It is these significant achievements which make us feel proudly South African!

Thank you for making us proud Oupa!

Yours truly,
Stiaan Klue
Chief Executive

Death and taxes may be inevitable but they shouldn’t be related. In South Africa the extent of individual taxes and related hidden costs is putting immense pressure on individuals and might just kill them – financially, that is. Currently, 25% of individual taxpayers pay 75% of all personal income tax, which contributes close to 30% of total revenue to the fiscus.

An important amendment to the Income Tax Act that was effected by the Taxation Laws Amendment Act 17 of 2009 was the relaxation of one of the previously troublesome criteria for qualification as a “small business corporation”.

A new section 22B introduced by the Taxation Laws Amendment Act 17 of 2009 put in place an important new anti-avoidance measure linked to the proposed new dividends tax.

The learnership allowance provided for in section 12H of the Income Tax Act is intended to provide employers with a tax incentive for job creation and skills development.

The chief executive, Stiaan Klue, was cited in Rapport on 22 November 2009 in respect of the filing season deadline for electronic returns.

It's probably a while since most tax advisers and technicians refreshed their CV's. So for those who may have faced redundancy recently, what are the main things to think about. Charles Ferguson has a few ideas.

The chief executive, Stiaan Klue, was cited in Finweek of 12 November 2009 in respect of the tax burden of South Africa.

The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, Mr Oupa Magashula, was elected unanimously on Thursday as the chairperson of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) at its inaugural conference in Kampala, Uganda.

This ruling deals with whether any income tax, secondary tax on companies (STC), donations tax or capital gains tax (CGT) implications would arise where an off-shore holding company settles its South African subsidiary’s loan with a bank without requiring any quid pro quo from its subsidiary.

SARS updated the following guides with immediate effect...

On 19-20 November the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) was officially launched by the President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni.

In May of this year, the Obama Administration released a number of international tax reform proposals (the Green Book) that, if enacted, would significantly impact United States federal taxation of international business. Some of the commentary in the Joint Committee on Taxation's report on the proposals does shed light on them, although unfortunately a number of questions remain outstanding.

On 24 November, OECD will publish the 2009 edition of its annual Revenue Statistics, which presents detailed comparable tax data in a common format for OECD countries from 1965 onwards.

Spain has joined 16 other countries that have signed the OECD / Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, marking a new step forward in international efforts to combat tax fraud and evasion.