“Expats who follow shady advice to deregister as taxpayers with SARS will suffer in the long run,” says Jonty Leon, Legal Manager (Expatriate Tax) at Tax Consulting SA. This follows reports that some tax advisors are directing their expatriate clients to deregister with SARS to avoid paying tax on their non-exempt foreign income. According to…
A STEP CLOSER TO RETIREMENT REFORM IN SA AND IMMEDIATE 3-YEAR LOCKUP The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“TLAB”) was published on 31 July 2020. As announced in the Budget Speech, any South African leaving in future will be subject to a much stricter process from 1 March 2021 onwards. But there was also a…
SARS’ announcement that it has started auto-assessing certain taxpayers may lead some people to believe they no longer need to worry about their tax submissions. This is not the case, according to Thamsanqa Msiza, Head of Individual Tax Returns at Tax Consulting South Africa. “The onus still lies with the taxpayer to ensure all information…
The draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“TLAB”) was published on 31 July 2020 and with it comes an overhaul of the regime for taking your retirement funds abroad. In terms of the proposed amendments, expatriation of these benefits will be subject to a much stricter process from 1 March 2021 onwards. Current position Under the…
FOR SARS ON CRIMINAL TAX OFFENSES The new Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (“TALAB”), released on 31 July 2020, proposes a law change that will effectively lower the threshold for SARS and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to criminally prosecute taxpayers. The Proposed Amendment The proposed amendment is directed at paragraph 30 of the…
THEREAFTER RETIREMENT FUNDS CAPTURED FOR 3 YEARS Government Moving to Hold onto South African’s Retirement Funds On 31 July 2020, the Draft Tax Law Amendment Bill (“TLAB”) contained a hidden announcement, which may prove to be the final straw for many ex-South Africans who still have retirement investments left in South Africa. The TLAB seeks…
WHY THESE REASONS? Currently, individuals are able to withdraw their retirement annuity when they turn 55 or when they financially emigrate and their emigration has been approved by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) and by the South African Reserve Bank (“SARB”). It is worth noting that even where an individual has reached the age…
MUST YOU SUBMIT A TAX RETURN TO SARS? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions implemented, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has pushed back the 2020 tax season by two months. The 2020 tax season will now open on the 1st of September 2020, and closes on the 16th of November 2020, for…
The History of the Policy Shift A quick recap for newcomers to taxation of South Africans abroad is that after a near two decade policy of giving an employment tax exemption to South Africans performing employment services abroad, there was a material policy shift by National Treasury and SARS, first to completely remove the exemption…
WHY SOUTH AFRICAN EXPATRIATES MUST BE FULLY COMPLIANT With the effects of COVID-19 hitting the National Treasury where it hurts the most, in the pocket; SARS has introduced auto-assessments. This means tax returns will be completed automatically on behalf of the taxpayers using third-party information. How will it work? From August this year, SARS has…
