How to build a lasting legacy: wealth transfer strategies for families
From trusts to tax-smart retirement planning, here’s how to protect your estate, reduce taxes, and prepare the next generation to manage and grow your wealth.
SARS
Groceries, gadgets and gaps: where two-pot savings are really going
Sanlam reports that most withdrawals came from financially strained members in mid-life, with little evidence that funds were used to reduce debt. Instead, spending patterns suggest pressure to cover everyday expenses.
Retirement pot withdrawals could undermine long-term savings
Danie van Zyl of Sanlam Corporate Investments warns that allowing access to retirement components in retrenchment cases might jeopardise long-term savings and place added pressure on trustees.
Experts warn reversing VAT increase may be impractical
Once implemented on 1 May, undoing the VAT hike could prove nearly impossible. Even if Parliament later votes against the Rates and Monetary Amounts Bill, the logistics of refunding the collected VAT present formidable challenges.
South Africans in the UAE: why you may need a separate will for your assets
Many South Africans assume their SA will covers their UAE assets, but without proper cross-border estate planning, legal complications and delays can arise.
SARS’s enhanced compliance efforts add R301.5bn to revenue
The South African Revenue Service outperformed its revised estimates for 2024/25, buoyed by strong personal income tax, VAT, and company income tax collections.
Proposal to tweak ‘bona fide inadvertent error’ in favour of SARS
The move will limit taxpayer defences that rely solely on claiming an unintentional mistake.
Higher VAT will impact business operations and consumer spending
The Minister of Finance cites an average 19% VAT among peers to argue that South Africa’s 15% rate is low, but isolated comparisons miss key factors such as exemptions, corporate rates, and overall business costs.
How SARS arrives at R800bn in uncollected tax
Commissioner Edward Kieswetter explains to Parliament why ‘between R700bn and R800bn is not an unreasonable amount’.
South Africa already has wealth taxes, says Kieswetter
Almost half the revenue from personal taxes is derived from people who earn more than R1 million.
VAT hike scaled back, but social grants take the biggest hit
With the government now R8.6 billion short, planned social grant increases have been slashed – while Home Affairs and border management also see deep budget cuts.
ASISA rejects proposed ‘dualistic nature’ of CIS portfolios
ASISA warns that reclassifying collective investment scheme portfolios as profit-making schemes will undermine years of established investment policy.
SARS’s tax collection powers strengthened – will enforcement get tougher?
Taxpayers may struggle to challenge SARS’s authority to repatriate foreign assets after a High Court ruling upheld its powers, potentially paving the way for more assertive tax enforcement.
Provisional tax simplified: key deadlines and compliance strategies
Missing the provisional tax deadlines can lead to steep penalties and interest. This article outlines the key dates and payment rules to help you stay ahead.
Budget 2025: can debt stability lay the foundation for growth?
With South Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio at 75.1%, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana faces a tough balancing act – can his Budget Speech reassure investors and spark economic growth?
How to maximise your tax benefits in a two-pot era
Carla Rossouw, head of tax at Allan Gray, discusses what investors need to know about retirement fund products and the looming end-of-tax year deadline on 28 February.
Tax collections miss forecasts – will taxpayers bear the burden?
A dip in corporate and VAT revenues has left a R10bn hole in expected tax collections. As the Budget approaches, Treasury faces a difficult balancing act.
