Taxpayers are dodging payments, following in the footsteps of political bigwigs.

Government levies and taxes are a huge determinant, as this report shows, in why petrol prices are about to scale past the R16 mark.

The rules for the Corporation Tax treatment of carried forward losses changed from 1 April 2017.

Plans to introduce a new two-tiered penalty system for individuals and businesses that do not pay their tax bills on time have been included in the draft Finance Bill 2018-19.

Since SARS keeps charging us penalties for things we had little knowledge of, here are the five mistakes you should avoid making when filing your tax returns.

30 September 2018 is a vitally important date for all those who have previously undisclosed offshore income and gains. 

Wiese is facing a R217 million fine.

The publication of the draft Finance Bill 2018-19 includes legislation to change the way the rent-a-room relief scheme works.

Under the current rules, non-resident companies with a trading business in the UK are liable to pay UK Corporation Tax on their profits made through a permanent establishment/branch or agency.

Important to note.

Most gifts made during a person’s lifetime are not subject to tax at the time of the gift.

The HMRC Double Taxation Relief Manual sets out the overall principles to be applied in respect of pension income.

The annual allowance for tax relief on pensions is £40,000 for the current tax year.

Whilst the majority of businesses charge VAT at the standard rate of 20% there are a number of different VAT rates and exemptions that businesses should be aware.

New laws have come into effect (from 26 April 2018) to help tackle the problem of identity fraud and personal harm for company directors.

All our hard-earned money at least goes to good causes. You know, like Norma Gigaba’s shopping budget.

The answer may surprise you.

There are now just over two weeks to go until the new data protection regulations become law on 25 May 2018.

“Bots” is just “fake news” but for 2018. That’s our hot take.

More Gigaba drama.

We have published articles before discussing the importance of making a will and ensuring that your assets are divided amongst your beneficiaries in the way best suited to your personal wishes.

A new online system to administer the trust register known as the Trusts Registration Service (TRS), was launched in July 2017.

The Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) is a tax that is payable by certain Non-Natural Persons (NNPs) that own interests in dwellings valued at more than £500,000.

New legislation that comes into effect from 1 October 2018 will see higher penalties for anyone with undeclared offshore assets.

Tax-battered wealthy South Africans, hoping to protect their retirement income are retiring to Portugal for six months a year on the country’s Non-Habitual Residence (NHR) programme, with its attractive 10-year tax break.

Moyane’s legacy.

He’s digging his heels in, here

The employment allowance of £3,000 per year is available to most businesses and charities to be offset against their employers Class 1 NIC bill. The allowance can be claimed as part of the normal payroll process.

The Tax-Free Childcare Scheme (TFCS) was launched in April 2017 to the first tranche of working parents.

Emigrating from South Africa is not as simple as packing up your bags, jumping on a plane and setting up shop somewhere else. Unfortunately, there is still the issue of tax and no matter where you go, the taxman remains interested.

The answer may not be what you’d expect.

There is a penalty due for late submission of your tax return, but this may also be appealed.

The 2018 Budget Speech was delivered by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on Wednesday. Him quoting Kendrick Lamar got a whole lot of attention, but it was serious business elsewhere. The biggest news was that VAT was increased from 14% to 15% – the first time since 1993 that there has been an increase to the […]

Automatic enrolment for workplace pensions is encouraging many employees to start making a provision for their retirement with employers and government also contributing to making a larger pension pot.

It is increasingly common for taxpayers to own more than one home and there are a number of issues that homeowners should be aware.

Employees who use their own uniforms, work clothing and tools for work can sometimes claim tax relief for the associated costs.

The SA302 tax calculation and tax year overview documents are commonly used as evidence of income for loan or mortgage purposes for the self-employed.

The Christmas break is over, and your year should be in full swing by now. If you haven’t completed your tax return by now, you’d better get going with it soon.

One of the most often used and valuable of the capital gains tax (CGT) exemptions concerns the sale of the family home.

The tax which rings the end of financial viability for many South African trusts is now only two months away, with the effective date being 28 February 2018.

As a general rule, someone who inherits property, money or shares is not liable to pay tax on the inheritance.

We have some important news about your online tax return before you head off on your Christmas holiday.

As part of the Budget measures, the Chancellor announced that the indexation allowance for companies that make capital gains is to be scrapped.

The biggest prize from the recent Budget went to first-time home buyers after the Chancellor announced changes to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) rules.

A new measure to tackle disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes was announced as part of the Autumn Statement 2016.

This may come as a surprising fact to many of our readers, but a will can be changed after death.

Experts are warning of a ‘serious brain drain’ coming our way

Their failings. Our expense.

There are special rules that govern how assets are divided if a person dies without making a will.

In a recent newsletter, we looked at the tax implications of giving Christmas gifts to your staff and the complications that can arise. 

South Africans know SARS has a lot of issues. But, did you know that they also go after you for a hefty amount of 49 cents?

The author of The President’s Keepers just keeps hitting this mob with revelation after revelation

From April 2015 the government introduced a capital gains tax (CGT) charge on the sale of UK residential properties by non-UK residents.

There’s trouble in paradise…

Significant changes to the UK’s data protection regime will be made next May when the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force.

Yet another allegation of corruption in the President’s name.

Companies, or certain corporate entities, which own a UK residential dwelling (i.e. enveloped dwelling) valued over £500,000 fall within the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) regime.

One of our charity clients has significantly boosted their annual Gift Aid tax refunds from HMRC by over £8,000 a year using the Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme or GASDS.

Hands up if you’ve received a return…

HMRC has updated their online guidance to confirm that the Second Incomes Campaign for individuals with undeclared income from a supplementary income stream has been withdrawn.

Entrepreneurs’ Relief applies to the sale of a business, shares in a trading company or an individual’s interest in a trading partnership.

Most VAT registered businesses are entitled to reclaim the VAT they incur on goods and services used by the business. This is known as input VAT.

Common sense has prevailed for South Africans who work in a foreign country

What is it, who does it apply to, and how can you take part?

Tax-dodging elite are set to force costs up for ordinary citizens

It is important that landlords are aware of the expenses that can be deducted from their rental income. As a rule, these expenses must be wholly and exclusively for the purposes of renting out the property in question.

Ever wondered how much of your working life is devoted to the taxman? We’ve got your answers here (No throwing sickies tomorrow, you lot)

Working out whether you are an employee or self-employed can be a tricky business and HMRC’s view can sometimes be at odds with status defined under employment law.

The South African Expats Tax Petition Group will submit oral presentations to the government on August 29th, to fight against the ill-conceived plans to tax SA workers for the money they make abroad

In July 2015, the then Chancellor George Osborne announced a series of reforms to the non-domicile rules.

They have been cheating the taxman big time…

The Personal Savings Allowance (PSA) was launched on 6th April 2016.

The proposal would significantly harm South Africans sent to work abroad

Quite a lot has been written in the recent past about National Treasury’s intention to tax expats on their foreign-sourced employment income.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of HMRC over a long running tax avoidance case against a former incarnation of Rangers football club (now in liquidation).

Well, that’s certainly curious…

Big earners bypassing income tax laws have forced the Treasury to propose sweeping changes

The Gift Aid scheme is available to all UK taxpayers.

The new dividend tax allowance was introduced in April 2016.

Director shareholders understandably want to pay the lowest amount of tax and National Insurance possible whilst complying with their obligations under the relevant legislation.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was developed by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and provides a global standard for the automatic exchange of information relevant to tax between different tax jurisdictions. South Africa also agreed to comply with the CRS as from 2017.

A multi-millionaire dodging the tax man, who would have thought?

The DA believes the president still owes the taxman a whole lotta Nkandla moolah in fringe tax benefits.

The rules for individuals providing services to the public sector via an intermediary such as a personal service company (PSC) changed from April 2017.

The deputy CEO of a South African non-governmental organisation recently tweeted that close to 80% of personal income tax is contributed by 1.7 million individuals. But, as with most things to do with tax, the truth is not that simple.

The new dividend tax allowance was introduced in April 2016.

In July 2015, George Osborne announced measures to reduce the availability of non-domicile status to those living a substantial amount of time in the UK.

A UK non-resident that sells UK residential property needs to deliver a non-resident CGT (NRCGT) return within 30 days of selling a relevant property.

There are a number of reasons why a taxpayer needs to complete a Self Assessment return.

HMRC are to introduce an additional test from 1 April 2017 that will determine the flat rate percentage used by traders.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is likely to be the most wide ranging change to the UK tax system since the introduction of Self Assessment many years ago and will fundamentally change the way businesses, the self-employed and landlords interact with HMRC.

Treasury is shifting its gaze to South Africans working in tax havens for more than 183 days a year to skip out on paying tax back home, and folks are a little worried.

Entrepreneurs’ Relief reduces the rate of CGT to 10% on the first £10 million of gains on the disposal of qualifying business assets.

Take note of these changes.

Where an individual is resident but not domiciled in the UK there are special rules that apply to that person’s overseas income and capital gains. Only UK assets are charged to inheritance tax. The government has been consulting on possible changes to the rules from 6 April 2017.

By now everyone has had some time to digest the Budget Speech, and specifically how the R28 billion increase in the tax burden that largely falls on individuals will impact us.

These are the tax table adjustments for those of us who don’t fall in the super rich income bracket.

It is now only a couple of months until the changes to tax relief for buy-to-let landlords start to take effect.

HMRC’s High Net Worth Unit (HNWU) is a specialist division that was established in 2009 to deal with taxpayers who have wealth in excess of £20 million. The threshold changed to £10 million during 2016-17.

Are you ready for tax zen?