In Delport v Le Roux and Others[1], the court’s judgment, delivered on 24 November 2022, is a r...
Assistance to executors: beware the pitfalls
Monday, 14 November 2022
On 22 March 2022 the Western Cape High Court delivered a judgment on the duties of executors of deceased estates and the care with which professional assistance to them should be dealt with. A decisive element in deciding the dispute between the dramatis personae in the matter Paulus Bernhardus Koch v Michele Weiland NO &
- Published in Deceased estates, Interpretation of statutes
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Recent decision on the Wills Act, 1953
Tuesday, 19 May 2020
On 28 April 2020 Sher J delivered a magisterial 40-page judgment in the High Court of the Western Cape in the matter between JW (Appellant) and Williams-Ashman & others (Respondents), case 16108/19. In issue was section 2B of the Wills Act, 1953, a relatively little-used and little known section because of its limited application. Section
- Published in Deceased estates, Interpretation of statutes
Interpretation of Employment Tax Incentive Act
Thursday, 07 March 2019
ON 13 December 2018 the Western Cape tax court upheld the appeal of the taxpayer in ABC (Pty) Ltd v CSARS Case No 14426. The origin of the dispute lay in the fact that the taxpayer employed both union and non-union employees. At issue was the interpretation of the provisions of the Employment Tax Incentive
- Published in Employment Tax Incentive Act, Interpretation of statutes
Retrospective tax legislation – when is it acceptable?
Thursday, 15 June 2017
The Gauteng Division, Pretoria, of the High Court recently had occasion to consider the constitutionality of retrospective legislation, in Pienaar Brothers (Pty) Ltd v CSARS & the Minister of Finance Case 87760/2014 (not yet reported). The Court in effect condoned retrospective legislation where adequate warning existed of its imminent introduction. This article will not attempt
- Published in Income Tax, Interpretation of statutes
Value-added tax : the meaning of “commercial accommodation”
Sunday, 27 March 2016
In Respublica (Pty) Ltd v CSARS, case No 864/2014, the Gauteng High Court decided in favour of the taxpayer on the meaning of “commercial accommodation” in the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991. The court found that the narrow meaning that SARS ascribed to the term was untenable, and arrived at a wider meaning by applying the
- Published in Interpretation of statutes, Value-added tax
When are you conducting farming operations? SCA confirms the correct approach
Saturday, 26 March 2016
On 1 March 2016 the Supreme Court of Appeal in CSARS v Kluh Investments (Pty) Ltd, case No 115/2015, confirmed the decision of the Western Cape High Court that the taxpayer was not conducting farming operations. In doing so it provided a good example of the correct approach to interpreting fiscal, and indeed any, legislation.
- Published in Income Tax, Interpretation of statutes
A lesson in interpreting legislation
Wednesday, 20 May 2015
In September 2014 in Kluh Investments (Pty) Ltd v CSARS [2015] 77 SATC 23 WC the Western Cape High Court delivered a judgment that stands as a model of the interpretation of legislation. The core issue was the meaning of “farmer” for purposes of the First Schedule to the Income Tax Act. In most cases
- Published in Income Tax, Interpretation of statutes
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
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
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