The intrusive and unavoidable topic of tax is most often ignored by the very people who should take responsibility for it. The only time that they actually pay attention is when they get that dreaded letter from SARS demanding their pound of flesh.

Crisis-managing tax
The taxation industry is driven by legislation. With tax laws constantly changing, businesses might find themselves under threat. Although pro-active businesses manage risks threatening their organisations on other levels, they often ignore tax risks. It is essential to manage these, rather than bringing in tax specialists at the eleventh hour to crisis-manage their tax situation when faced with audits or SARS investigations.

Who is responsible for tax matters in the business?
If you own a business, if you are responsible for the tax returns of your clients, if you head up or manage the tax and risk division in your company answer to superiors, partners and shareholders on the financial and taxation position of the company and you pay taxes, then you are responsible.

We seem to forget that SARS is regarded as the largest stakeholder in businesses, as well as their largest creditor due to the large amount of tax that must be paid over on a monthly basis.



Empowering South African taxpayers
TAXtalk has been one of the premier suppliers of tax-related information to the South African taxpayer since its establishment in 2002.

Tax information received from sources like auditors and contained in most tax publications are highly technical and riddled with jargon, making it difficult for the average person to understand. Business people also become so caught up in the day-to-day affairs of managing their companies that they do not have the time or the interest to decipher the complexities and technicalities of tax. The best way to demystify tax is to pass them a magazine to relax with after dinner or in between meetings.

The TAXtalk concept
TAXtalk started off as a website answering tax-related queries and publishing tax articles, aimed at providing information in a format that was as reader-friendly as possible. This approach to tax was well received and in December 2005 a natural progression took place from the electronic media to the production of the first tax magazine published in South Africa.

The concept behind this informative multi-media tax forum is to empower South African taxpayers, both corporate and individual by breaking the psychological barriers that exist between the awesome rules of the tax world and the ordinary taxpayer.

By consistently providing unique and interesting information and insights into the world of tax, taxpayers can get to grips with the tax issues at hand. TAXtalk magazine has been the first of its kind and is considered to be a revolution in the South African tax arena.

Contributors to TAXtalk are independent professionals and experts in their particular fields, giving the editorial content an unbiased and objective angle. The opinions of tax professionals and experts, different angles on tax topics, updates on tax law and legislation all make TAXtalk a valuable source of current tax information.

Value-added services
TAXtalk has developed products and services that now cover several different media formats. Taxtalk has aligned itself with preferred partners who can provide clients with the best possible tax solutions within the time constraints that they experience.

Education
TAXtalk offers tax symposiums, sponsors television talk shows and arranges in-house tax education workshops. Topics covered include annual tax updates, tax risk management and the constitutional rights of taxpayers. Specialised tax topics such as the deductibility of royalty payments, the constitutional validity of transfer pricing provisions and franchise tax, to mention a few are also presented. TAXtalk is constantly looking for innovative ways to educate and empower its clients to keep them informed about the changes in the taxation industry.



Specialist attorneys and consultants TAXtalk has access to highly specialised consultants and attorneys. They assist businesses and individuals with specialist litigation services, ensure that their rights are protected in disputes with or investigations by SARS and provide legal compliance auditing services. Clients are also assisted in preparing legal opinions on various aspects of tax risk-related law and they provide solution-based advise on risk management structuring, whether domestic or cross-border. They also advise on the most efficient asset protection internationally. Without the availability of these specialised services, clients would spend time and huge sums of money to build their own capacity to understand this particular area of the law. Risks involved in mismanaging tax include the closing down of businesses or directors being criminally charged.

The TAXtalk team consists of specialists who offer a unique combination of skills, geared at risk management for corporate clients across various industries. TAXtalk is a magazine and electronic tax medium that enhances economic growth and social development, as well as supporting integration into the global economy in a way that benefits all South African taxpayers. TAXtalk promotes the drive for individual and corporate tax compliance.

TAXtalk circulation and exposure
TAXtalk is an empowered company and reaches its clients via three mediums; website access on www.taxtalk.co.za, via an electronic newsletter and the distribution of a world class tax magazine.

Currently the TAXtalk website www.taxtalk.co.za has traffic exceeding 150 000 hits per month, an electronic weekly newsletter that is emailed to 13 000 addresses and a magazine readership of 16 000 every two months. Through key partnerships and associations, TAXtalk receives exposure to over 250 000 targeted clients through these key distribution and exposure channels.