Provisional taxpayers in good standing with SARS have to submit two tax returns by 28 February: the 2009 annual income tax return and the second 2010 provisional tax return.

The February deadline for 2009 tax returns does not apply to all provisional taxpayers. It is only for those who are in good standing with SARS, i.e. have no outstanding returns except for the current 2009 return. In addition those tax payers must e-file their tax returns.

Tax practitioners preparing the second 2010 provisional tax returns must be extremely cautious that an accurate estimate of the taxpayer’s taxable income is made in order to avoid the new administrative penalties which became effective on 23 November 2009. To avoid penalties taxpayers who have a taxable income below R1m will have to estimate the final amount owed to SARS to 90% of actual taxable income, unless the taxpayer choose the basic amount. Those with taxable income of R1m or more will have to estimate the amount owed to SARS to 80% of the final tax due on full taxable income, including capital gains.

Happy filing!

Yours truly,
Stiaan Klue

National Treasury said there is no question about a deferral for the introduction of a "green tax" on new imported vehicles. The tax comes into operation on March 1.

Shareholders will be worse off with the new dividend tax, PricewaterhouseCoopers SA said on Tuesday. Dividend taxes will soon be shifted from the company — which presently bears it in the form of Secondary Tax on Companies (STC) - on to shareholders in the form of a 10% withholding dividend tax.

Last week the education and training committee of the Institute held a workshop with key stakeholders to discuss the content and development of the tax internship.

SARS has embarked on a process to review and either withdraw or replace the existing Practice Notes. As part of this process, notice is hereby given that the Practice Notes listed in the schedule attached will be withdrawn with effect from 1 February 2010, except where otherwise indicated.

To improve the efficiency of the reconciliation and submission process, changes to the specifications for tax certificates and reconciliation processes have been made.

This ruling deals with the VAT implications relevant to the supply of services by respective vendors in respect of which mitigation capital, operating and services costs are received.

Jeffrey Owens, Head of the OECD’s Tax Centre and Pascal Saint-Amans, Head of the Global Forum Secretariat, reports progress on OECD work on tax havens, outlining plans to help countries implement OECD standards on tax transparency.

On 9 September 2009, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released for public comment a proposed revision of Chapters I-III of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations.

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel moved yesterday to give new momentum to the drive for a global financial transaction tax by calling on the International Monetary Fund to draw up plans for introducing such an initiative.

GLOBAL staff at Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, will share the burden of a 50% British tax on bonuses, chairman Josef Ackermann was quoted as saying in a press report today.