Dear Subscriber,

Tax is something that triggers uncertainty with you as tax managers when you have to face unexpected audits from SARS. You are usually unprepared for this, causing unnecessary worry. The problem is also that you as tax managers are too busy with your daily duties to make time to set up early warning systems that will allow you to anticipate a surprise SARS audit. This adds to the pressure.

Your board will soon realise what you already know, that sitting back and not proactively tackling these problems will only lead to more tax exposure in the business, eroding the profits you were hired to protect from unnecessary tax leakage! STOP and ask yourself the question - am I proactive enough in limiting tax leakage in the business?

In TAXtalk Magazine Issue 6, Frances Louw discusses the do's and don'ts of providing information to SARS, an enquiry into your affairs usually starts with an information request from SARS, and you as a taxpayer need to know your rights and the correct procedures to be followed by both parties from the onset of the enquiry. Francis explains what it is that you need to be doing.

Mike Holmes discusses trendsetting solutions for small business. This is a follow-up article from Issue 5, which highlighted a "grand plan" by French banker Yves Gomez that would involve all stakeholders in South Africa in a concerted effort to revolutionise the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

We go into some detail about the new tax process that SARS has introduced to make it easier for businesses and individuals to file their tax returns. Two new personal income

tax returns have been developed to replace the previous five,the eFiling facility remains the quickest way to do tax returns currently and there is no need anymore to attach supporting documentation to tax returns. Thumbs; up to SARS for helping make life easier for us taxpayers!

TAXtalk magazine is jam-packed with interesting and relevant articles that pertain to you and your business. TAXtalk is an information provider for you. We are here to make it easier for you to understand tax and make sense of all the legal stuff. SUBSCRIBE to TAXtalk for R600.00 annually so that you can get your own copy of the magazine.

Tax Issues
Patrick McGurk, director at Cliffe Dekker, discusses local share incentive schemes and cross border share schemes on tax issues in the upcoming newsletters. Tax attorney Jennifer Faber discusses the third of seven habitual tax mistakes made by businesses. Tax Issues is broadcast on Summit TV (DSTV channel 55) on Wednesday at 20h40 and again at 22h40. Click here for a summary of the full interview.

Get the TAXtalk Magazine delivered to your postal address and receive a weekly tax electronic newsletter and download TAXtalk information and eBooks from the website. You can get all this by SUBSCRIBING to TAXtalk for R600.00 annually.

Subscribe online in less than two minutes.

Till next week.
Janine Connor
Head of TAXtalk

Sanchia Temkin, Professional Services Editor - Business Day

THE King 3 report on corporate governance is set to shake up corporate SA. It is due for release early next year, and its recommendations will be mandatory for all public interest companies, parastatals and institutions that fall within financial market regulations.

TAXtalk

Over the past 11 years, Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel has gained a reputation for the imagery he introduces in his annual budget speech. Some cynics say that this play on words is just a clever ploy to soften the blows of his tight monetary control. The rest of us, however, have come to expect a bit of symbolism and fanciful rhetoric in the budget speech to spice things up.

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:

• Regional Head of Indirect Tax, Rio Tinto, Perth Australia
• Assistant Manager, GlaxoSmithKline, West London, UK
• Tax Manager - VAT Planning (EMEASA), Western Union, Dublin, Ireland
• Senior Tax Accountant, Esco Corp, Portland, USA
• Financial Services Tax Alternatives Market Opportunities. PwC. London & New York

PriceWaterhouseCoopers

When it comes to tax relief for charitable organisations, a recent decision of the New Zealand High Court (Wellington Regional Stadium Trust v Attorney-General [2005] 1 NZLR 250) reveals that South Africa`s tax-exemption rules for charitable organizations are far superior to those of New Zealand.

Sanchia Temkin, Professional Services Editor - Business Day

THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) had by yesterday received more than 300000 small business tax amnesty applications, which spokesman Adrian Lackay described as “very encouraging”.

Interview with Tax Attorney Jennifer Faber - Tax Issues, Summit TV

Tax attorney Jennifer Faber discussed the third of seven habitual tax mistakes made by businesses on Tax Issues, broadcast on Summit on Wednesday evening. One of the problems found in many businesses that have acquired business software packages such as SAP or Oracle is with take-on balances – particularly with provisions.

TAXtalk invites you to write an article in which you share your views and expertise on tax. Your article can be published in the newsletter for 7000 readers to view, on our website for over 100 000 viewers to see and in the TAXtalk magazine(with your photo) for more than 16 000 readers to read. Make an impression, submit your article NOW.

Article Requirements:
1 Page Article : 900 words  1½ Page Article : 1350 words  2 Page Article : 1800 words
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Submit your article to: janine@taxtalk.co.za or post it to: (P.O Box 1650 Gallo Manor 2052)