VAT decision highlights constitutional defects across tax Acts
Tax experts say the constitutional problem identified by the High Court could affect several other laws that give the finance minister similar powers.
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High Court: Minister’s power to set VAT rate is unconstitutional
The declaration of invalidity was suspended for 24 months and referred to the Constitutional Court for confirmation.
VDP interest relief proposed despite recent Constitutional Court precedent
Just a year after the Constitutional Court barred post-agreement interest remission in voluntary disclosure cases, Treasury proposes legislation to allow it.
Increase in the VAT registration threshold
The tax regime for small and micro-businesses will also be adjusted for inflation.
Zero-rated chicken will have minimal impact on tax revenue, report finds
Advocates say including certain chicken products in the zero-rated food basket will directly benefit poorer households that rely on bone-in cuts and offal.
Courts willing to consider evidence beyond a contract’s written terms
Modern contract interpretation permits surrounding circumstances to explain contractual meaning – undermining SARS’s argument that extrinsic evidence is inadmissible.
Insider knowledge abused: ex-SARS auditor jailed for fabricated VAT claims
The former SARS employee and tax practitioner submitted false VAT returns and forged documents that led to R1.58m in improper refunds.
Schools’ exit VAT liability postponed for a year
VAT-registered schools will have to deregister from 1 January 2026, but the deemed output VAT on retained assets will only be payable the following year.
Treasury withdraws plan to tax foreign pensions, pledges wider consultation
Although the amendment will not proceed, Treasury remains concerned about double non-taxation and will re-engage with the industry to find a balanced approach.
Treasury downplays impact of schools’ forced VAT deregistration
ISASA says there has always been a distinction between exempt (educational) and taxable (commercial) supplies.
Treat your tax refund as your money returned – not a bonus
Every rand overpaid to SARS is an opportunity cost. Allocate refunds to debt repayment, savings, or retirement contributions for greater long-term benefit.
SA residents face taxation on previously untaxed foreign pension benefits
The amendment treats foreign pension benefits like other residence-sourced income, shifting the retirement planning landscape for South Africans who worked overseas.
VAT-registered schools may face cashflow shock
The proposed blanket exemptions for goods and services supplied by schools will force VAT-registered schools to deregister and lose input-tax recovery.
Sticky VAT thresholds create ‘economic distortion’
Tax specialists say stagnant thresholds have the opposite effect of policy aims – instead of freeing SMEs to scale up, they incentivise remaining under the threshold.
SCA confirms validity of a tax opinion when it is correct in fact and law
Supreme Court rejects SARS’s argument that the expert’s opinion was tainted by self-interest because of the fee he would earn.
Beefed-up SARS might stave off R20bn in tax increases in 2026
An inflation-linked rise in the general fuel levy will in no way be sufficient to plug the revenue hole left by scrapping the two VAT increases.
SCA upholds pre-commencement tax debts in business rescue
The Supreme Court of Appeal confirms that re-quantifying a tax debt post-rescue commencement doesn’t create a new, preferential liability – cementing SARS’s place as a concurrent creditor under an approved rescue plan.
