20 Jan 2010
In the latter part of 2009 we sent a Newsflash about the window of opportunity which would be opened in regard to the transferring of certain immovable properties from Close Corporations, Companies and Trust to individuals. We have pleasure in advising that SARS has now passed the necessary legislation and approved the necessary forms to enable such transfers to now take place.
30 May 2008
A full 100 basis points interest rate hike next month will place homeownership further out of reach of many South Africans, pushing the monthly salary required to buy the average, mid-sized house to a whopping R47 500.
4 Mar 2008
Against the setting of rising demand, it is important to note that the demand for electricity is starting to outstrip the capability of current generation capacity. While in the past we have enjoyed significant surpluses of generating capability we now rely on imports and buying back of electricity to sustain and meet the electricity needs of the country.
15 Nov 2007
It is sad see that there are many property investors and home owners that can’t pay their bonds due to the recent interest rate increases. To add to the trauma, many have refinanced properties to the extent that getting a quick sale in the open market is close to impossible as there is no equity left to make the deal attractive to another investor. This makes the situation very unpleasant and dangerous for the credit records of such persons. These incidents seem to leave the property investor or homeowner stuck, panicked and very emotional about the situation. There are however a few solutions that come from the most unexpected place – the banks.
8 Nov 2007
Transfer Duty: Nominee Transactions - March 2003 Minister Trevor Manual mentioned in his budget speech in February 2003 that certain property dealers / owners are making increasing use of nominee purchasers in order to avoid transfer duty or VAT upon re-sale. The dealer / purchaser merely nominates a so-called nominee and when a suitable buyer is found then such buyer is nominated, thereby effectively hiding one taxable transaction. Accordingly, from the 1st of September 2003, these types of artificial transactions will be disallowed by SARS. Section 16 of the Transfer Duty Act, 49 of 1949 now states that any person acting on behalf of a nominee shall immediately upon conclusion of the agreement of sale nominate the nominee. "Immediately" is deemed to mean "the same day". Please be careful when purchasers advise you that they wish to purchase property and wish to have the right to nominate a nominee. Please ensure that, if this type of transaction is concluded, the purchaser nominates a nominee on the same day that the contract is signed to avoid a situation where double transfer duty or VAT is payable.
8 Nov 2007
Background The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (hereinafter referred to as "FICA") was passed by Parliament in December 2001 and is being promulgated in a phased approach. FICA effectively establishes a partnership between the private and the public sector to assist in the identification of proceeds of unlawful activities thereby combating money laundering activities. In terms of FICA, the Money Laundering Advisory Council and Financial Intelligence Centre (hereinafter referred to as "FIC") were established.
8 Nov 2007
Some sections of the new Children’s Act, Act 38 of 2005 has been implemented with effect from 1 July 2007 and according to the new act the age of majority is lowered from 21 to 18, defining child as “a person under the age of 18 years”. This is in keeping with international trends and the Constitution.
8 Nov 2007
Section 35 A of the Income Tax Act has come into effect from 1 September 2007. This section makes provision for the withholding of a portion of the selling price received by a non-resident for property owned by the non-resident within the RSA to secure payment to SARS of Capital Gains Tax which might be payable by the Seller as a non-resident.
8 Nov 2007
Phishing (scam email) This is a form of fraud where criminals attempt to access your confidential information. This is done either by an email request for information or by luring you to a fake website. In both instances, the fraudster would pretend to be from a legitimate company (for example the bank), and would ask you to disclose confidential financial and personal information - like passwords, credit card account numbers and ID numbers.
5 Oct 2007
What is Capital Gains Tax? Capital Gains Tax is the tax that you pay on any profits you make on your assets when you sell or dispose of your assets in any way. You will therefore not pay Capital Gains Tax on the full amount of the sale, but only on the profits. Profits accumulated before the date when capital gains came into effect are excluded.