The old regime
What you may not know is we have made excessive progress by having direct contact with the South African Revenue Services (SARS). The relationship built, has allowed us to work hand in hand with them to identify the grey areas that need ironing out. One specific area of concern is that applications submitted as a family unit under the old regime, are being singled out. SARS is requesting these applications be withdrawn and resubmitted as single applications. SARS has acknowledged that they are looking into this. However, according to amendments to legislation, applications submitted post 1 March 2020 should not be affected.
Expiration of the TCS Pin
Another point to note is the expiration of the TCS Pin. Currently, when the pin is issued, taxpayers have 12 months to encash policies or transfer funds abroad. We are of the opinion that this timeframe is insufficient, however we have stressed to SARS that the TCS Pin should be valid for a longer period. Taxpayers often need to transfer funds abroad and encash policies that may only be available beyond the 12-month cap. This is beneficial for taxpayers who must abide to the 3-year lock-in for their policies before they are able to encash.
Confirmation of Non-Tax residency
Since the 4th of November 2019, SARS has discontinued the Emigration Tax Clearance Certificate. Instead, they implemented the issuing of the TCS pin, which would serve as proof that a financial emigration has been completed. Our team is making strides in the process of working with SARS to obtain the confirmation certificates for those who have already concluded their financial emigration, which will prove that these taxpayers are noted as non-tax residents in South Africa.
Conclusion
In conclusion there are still a lot of unanswered questions and red flags that need to be addressed by SARS. However, they have indicated that they are open to us raising the concerns of our clients and working towards a resolution. With our suggestions, and by working hand in hand with SARS, we hope to obtain clarity for our clients going forward.
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