Dear Subscriber,

This is the last newsletter for 2006, newsletter send outs will resume in the third week of January 2007. In the meantime, please continue to visit the TAXtalk website as we will continue to update our website articles.

Issue 4 of the TAXtalk magazine should be reaching your postboxes anytime now and it has valuable input and informative articles from the likes of Ernest Mazansky, Director at Werkmans Tax, providing some observations on the new general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR), Greg

Tarrant, KPMG Tax, discussing the tax deductability of BEE costs, Andra Glyn-Jones, Associate Tax at Deloitte discussing the continuing saga of VAT, and Sean Kruger, National Director of tax services at Ernst & Young discussing transfer pricing. The theme for this issue is "Small Business Amnesty" and this is an informative and worthwhile issue of TAXtalk.

SUBSCRIBE TO TAX TALK for R50.00 per month or R600.00 annually. You get a quarterly Tax Talk Magazine delivered to your postal address, a weekly Tax Newsletter in your email inbox, 24 hours' access to download Tax Talk information and a complimentary copy of Tax Talk Magazine Issues 2 & 3 upon registration.

Go to http://www.etaxes.co.za/taxtalk_subscribe.asp to subscribe online in less than two minutes

The staff at TAXtalk would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers and subscribers a wonderful and peaceful festive season. For those of you who will be travelling, "buckle up" and return safely in the New Year!

Until next year
TAXtalk Publisher

Interview with Jackie Arendse Attorney at Howard Arendse & Associates

Stimulating research and development (R&D) in strategic areas is high on South Africa’s list of priorities. To this end, minister of Finance, Trevor Manual announced specific tax breaks in this area in his 2006 budget speech.

eTaxJobs is a global job portal exclusively for tax professionals, and an online resource for employers and recruitment firms to advertise their vacancies. eTaxjobs operate in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and around the World.

Available tax jobs for this week are:

• Latin America Tax Manager, Buenos Aires, Argentina, to £60,000
• Transfer Pricing Director, Financial Services, New York, USA, to £300,000
• Fixed Income - Tax Based Structured Finance, London, UK
• Supply Chain Senior Manager, Greenfield Site, Hong Kong
• Senior Tax Manager (International Tax), Hong Kong

Sanchia Temkin - BusinessDay

GLOBAL management consulting company Accenture has been awarded a tender by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to upgrade the receiver’s tax and customs IT system.

“SARS needs a new system in place to control custom and border issues and a more efficient tax administration process,” said SARS communications GM Logan Wort.

KPMG

Indirect tax can represent a major cost and compliance burden for organisations, whether it is an international business, a medium-sized company or a public sector body. KPMG is committed to helping the local markets understand and deal with the challenges of tax through forward thinking strategies and tailored approaches.

Are you sure of your rights as a taxpayer? Do you know how to deal with the processes of a SARS Audit? Would you like to learn why Transfer Pricing Provisions are constitutionally invalid – and not enforceable? Or, are you ready to find out what amnesties are available to corporate taxpayers – not just small businesses - for undisclosed income in 2006?

And would you like to know what effect the Royalty Judgement has on royalty papers? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then don’t miss this one-day workshop with Tax Expert, Daniel Erasmus, and discover how you can prevent your business from falling foul of the law.

Can you CONFIDENTLY answer the following questions? Call us NOW to Book your place on the Tax MasterClass and ensure your organizations future tax health.

• Where do you think your greatest Tax Risk lies?
• What is your documented tax policy/strategy?
• How good is your tax department's communication with the rest of your organization?
• Do they understand what your organizations REAL TAX RISK is?
• Do you know how Corporate Governance affects Tax Risk Management?
• How do you manage your relationship with your largest business partner, the South African Revenue Service?

Fleet Street Publications (Pty) Ltd

There's an error in our Practical Vat Handbook! With a red face I must own up that I caused confusion relating to Skills Development Levies (SDL)! So, to set the record straight this is to confirm, once and for all, that SDL was done away with as from 1 March 2005. Now, while you were paying SDL you were entitled to claim the Vat thereon as input tax.

From personal individual tax to significant company tax changes - the subject is a hotly debated issue throughout South Africa's corporate environment. Tax Issues - every Monday at 20h40pm and again at 22h40pm - demystifies some of the latest developments and issues being discussed in the corridors of power. Tax Issues will cover; The impact of pending new tax laws on individuals and companies, The capital gains tax debate, New SARS initiatives to collect tax Changes to tax benefits, The VAT vs personal tax debate.

Daniel Erasmus - SARS - 2005 SARS Annual Report

Litigation is the route to resolving legal disputes when all other avenues have been exhausted.

The following tables reflect cases brought before various courts such as the Tax Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal. In this period no cases appeared before the Constitutional Court.

Do you have something to say? Do you have an area of interest or expertise that you believe is something you can contribute for the interest of our readers? Do you want to share your views with like-minded people?

If so, send your submissions by email to (janine@taxtalk.co.za), fax (27 11 476 5004) or post (P.O. Box 1650, Gallo Manor 2052) and be heard!

We will publish the best stories and viewpoints on our website &/or in our weekly newsletter.

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Contact Janine at
janine@taxtalk.co.za
(011) 476 5095