In Delport v Le Roux and Others[1], the court’s judgment, delivered on 24 November 2022, is a r...
Deductibility of damages and the eiusdem generis principle in interpretation
Tuesday, 05 May 2015
In Mr Z v CSARS, case number 13472, heard in the Johannesburg tax court in November 2014 and recently reported, the taxpayer sought, unsuccessfully, to claim a deduction for damages he had paid in settlement of a dispute with a former client. In arriving at its judgment, the court dealt with the application of the
- Published in Income Tax, Interpretation of statutes, Tax Administration Act
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Agreement with Swaziland to prevent VAT fraud
Thursday, 23 April 2015
South Africa and Swaziland recently concluded an agreement “on mutual assistance and co-operation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to value-added tax”. Historically, the proximity and porous borders between South Africa and its neighbours have tempted vendors to carry out purported exports to these countries when in fact the goods concerned either never
- Published in International, Value-added tax
Court rebukes SARS for overly zealous use of preservation provision
Tuesday, 17 March 2015
In a judgment delivered in the High Court of the Western Cape on 9 September 2014, Rogers J rejected SARS’s application for a preservation order and appointment of a curator bonis on the grounds that there was no evidence of a danger that the assets of the taxpayers were likely to be dissipated. The court
- Published in Income Tax, Interpretation of statutes, Tax Administration Act
Taxpayer fails in attempt to circumvent the tax court
Thursday, 12 March 2015
The Gauteng Division of the High Court delivered judgment on 20 February 2015 in a case where the taxpayer sought to have a decision of SARS set aside in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (PAJA) or alternatively declared unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid. The court found that the taxpayer, Ackermans Ltd, should
- Published in Uncategorized
The tax treatment of a farmer’s reaped crop
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
When a farmer delivers his grape harvest to the co-op, do the grapes remain his during the maturation process while they are turned into wine? If so, they would comprise stock in hand and would have to be brought into account in the farmer’s tax return for the year of assessment. This was the question
- Published in Income Tax
High Court rules for vendor on VAT claim on sponsorships
Thursday, 05 March 2015
If a taxpayer receives money, goods and services from sponsors in return for providing branding and marketing services to the sponsors, output VAT is payable on the value of these receipts. And if the sponsors decline to furnish tax invoices in respect of the money, goods and services they receive from the taxpayer in return,
- Published in Value-added tax
Tax information exchange agreement with the Cook Islands
Thursday, 15 January 2015
The tax information exchange agreement between South Africa and the Cook Islands was signed on 25 October 2013 and published in the Government Gazette on 8 January 2015.
- Published in General, Income Tax, International
Rens v Edelstein NO & another [2014] 32286 (GP)
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
In this judgment the court expressed its view on when the Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund principle applies and when it does not, and why it does not apply to the interpretation of a will. It also set out the requirements permitting rectification of a will.
- Published in Deceased estates, General, Interpretation of statutes
SARS Penalties at a glance
Tuesday, 02 September 2014
The penalty regime introduced in the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (TAA) has caused confusion. This article seeks to clarify the position and eliminate the confusion. The TAA sets out the penalties that can affect taxpayers. This contrasts with the former situation where the provisions for penalties were scattered all over the tax Acts. The TAA
- Published in Income Tax, Value-added tax
SARS must not bully audited taxpayers
Tuesday, 01 July 2014
A recent appeal case South African Revenue Service v Pretoria East Motors (Pty) Ltd, sets out the standard that SARS is expected to uphold when auditing taxpayers. SARS must try to understand the systems used by taxpayers before raising additional assessments and imposing penalties for incorrect tax treatment. The court criticised SARS for employing bullying
- Published in Income Tax, Value-added tax