Dear Subscriber,

The amnesty campaign by SARS is visible all over on poles when you are driving. There is not much time left to apply for amnesty, and at this point, can you really plead ignorance if you miss the deadline?

By February of this year, SARS had already handed out 18 000 application forms to small businesses, and according to Sobantu Ndlangalavu, senior manager heading up the small business tax amnesty process at SARS, (interviewed in TAXtalk Magazine Issue 5), they were receiving about 300 application forms per day.

Sobantu says that small business owners cannot believe that this amnesty is real. They hear phrases like “Where's the catch?” and “This is too good to be true” all the time. SARS is expecting around 40 000 to 50 000 applications, which for SARS will be a great achievement.

The objective of the amnesty is to broaden the tax base and increase the number of businesses who are registered as taxpayers. Our taxpayers have a culture of procrastinating, this was evident with the foreign exchange amnesty where 25 000 applications were received in the last week. Are you one of those procrastinating taxpayers?

Something else to think about, is if you don't make full disclosure now, and let's say a year down the line you turn out to be a multi-millionaire. Your tax affairs will be scrutinised carefully to see if you had made full disclosure

when you had the opportunity to apply for amnesty. So, make sure there are no tax skeletons in your cupboard.

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Until next week.
Janine Connor
Head of TAXtalk

Mark Korten - ITI Symposium held at Emperor’s Palace

On the 17 April 2007, at a symposium held at Emperor’s palace, Mark Korten presented a talk in which he unpacked the effects of the Small Business Tax Amnesty.

Some of the important aspects covered were, who does tax amnesty apply to, instances where amnesty would not apply, general requirements, which taxes amnesty applied to, how to apply for amnesty, what the effect of a successful amnesty application is.

J. Niblick

This month we´re talking about Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A´s). More specifically, why they fail and the significance human capital plays in that failure.

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:

• Global Transfer Pricing Opportunities, PwC, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany and many more locations
  
  
• Global Financial Services Alternatives Market Opportunities, PwC, London and New York
  
  
• Global Indirect Tax Opportunities, PwC, Vietnam, USA, UAE, Ukraine, UK, Thailand, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, and many other locations
  
  
• International Tax Services Opportunities, PwC, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Japan, USA, UK, Saudi and many other locations
  
  
• Global Merger & Acquisition Tax Opportunities, PwC, China, Middle East, Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, HK, Kazakhstan

TAXtalk

Question:
I have a CC that is still registered and has a small bank balance and minor assets.

It traded for 2/3 years with a small income. It has not traded since 2004 and would not have been liable for tax as it had losses and hence stopped trading. Due to a misunderstanding with the accountant no returns were submitted although no tax was payable.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

The demand for competent, top-quality tax consultants far exceeds supply in South Africa, and this gap is likely to widen in years to come if recruiting appropriate candidates to the profession and equipping them with the necessary expertise is not prioritised.

Today we present a graph which provides support to the argument that one should at this point consider gaining exposure to global equities in favour of local equities.

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.

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.