The proposed personal income tax relief of R9.5 billion in the budget announcement is a welcome financial aid for all South African consumers. However, it is crucial that consumers use this additional benefit to improve their current financial situation and achieve their long term financial goals. This is according to Justus van Pletzen, Chief Executive [...]

Today’s Budget Speech has helped pave the way for business development in 2012. This is according to Robert Gad, tax director at ENS (Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs), who welcomes these proposals by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to encourage development, investment and employment in South Africa. “This is a budget with a mixture of positive and negative [...]

By Johan Lombard, Actuarial Specialist – Momentum Health One of the most interesting changes to taxation legislation to be implemented in the 2012/2013 tax year is the change in treatment of medical scheme contributions. Up to now, taxpayers qualified for a set monthly deduction on their taxable income, based on their family composition. It was [...]

Des Kruger, Director: Tax at Webber Wentzel, comments on key announcements made at the 2012 National Budget Speech. On the increase in the dividends tax rate “This has come as quite a shock given that all previous announcements and the law as it stands at present indicate a 10% rate. The proposed 50% increase in [...]

As announced in last year’s budget, income tax deductions for medical scheme contributions for taxpayers below 65 years will be converted into such credits. Monthly tax credits will be increased from R216 to R230 for the first two beneficiaries and from R144 to R154for each additional beneficiary with effect from 1 March 2012. It is [...]

There is increasing focus in this year’s budget review on high net individuals. They are perceived as “abusers” of share incentive schemes .They will be worse off after the proposals, despite the “modest” changes proposed by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. These include the 15% dividend tax, an unexpected 50% increase from the expected rate, capital [...]

What should the Minister be doing to encourage foreign direct investment in South Africa? Nola Brown, Associate Director, Tax at Webber Wentzel says: “Considerable progress has been made with regard to the stated intention to make South Africa an attractive spring board into, mostly, Africa with the introduction of the ‘headquarter company’ regime. In essence, [...]