Capital Gains Tax considerations for retiring small business owners
Retirement for small business owners is not simply a case of handing in your resignation letter and having a big party at which the company presents you with a gold watch. It often involves the not inconsiderable task of selling your business particularly if there is no ‘heir apparent’ to take over the reins. And […]
How you can protect your assets from predators – including SARS
Trusts have received a lot of bad press over the past few years, what with SARS taking a dim view of the use of trusts as a means of avoiding tax. A 2008 case involving a property trust, where the beneficiaries were changed in the hope of avoiding the payment of transfer duty, is but […]
Testator beware! The hidden tax consequences of limited interests
Sufficiently providing for one’s loved ones in the event of death is often the greatest legacy one can leave behind. However, failure to undertake proper estate planning can often create unintended consequences- especially that of an increased tax bill for the heirs! Usufructs, and other limited interests, are a popular way of providing security, especially […]
TIME FOR ESTATE DUTY TO GO?
The days of estate duty may be numbered according to Nicolene Schoeman of Schoeman Attorneys and an article by Barry Ger, Cape Town-based tax consultant, in the May issue of De Rebus, the SA attorneys’ journal published by the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA). His opinion is echoed by several other media reports. In […]
IS FIXED PROPERTY IN A TRUST STILL VIABLE?
Gerrie Vosser examines the tax and costs related to different scenarios in order to determine whether it is still a feasible option to hold fixed property in a trust. For many years the high transfer duty rate applying to trusts made it less attractive to purchase fixed properties in trust, a situation that changed, quite unexpectedly, for the better when […]
ESCAPING THE HIGHER CAPITALS GAINS TAX RATE
By Barry Ger, senior manager for corporate tax at KPMG 01 April 2012 A window of opportunity opens for some companies. If your company is thinking of selling any capital assets and its year end is not February or March there may be a window of opportunity to do it at the lower effective tax rate for […]
BUYING YOUR PROPERTY IN A TRUST: IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?
A trust is a legal entity with its own distinct identity. It has the contractual capacity to acquire, hold and dispose of property and other such assets for the benefit of its nominated beneficiaries. All trusts are governed and administered in terms of the Trust Property Control Act, and formed and governed in terms of a […]
CAPITAL GAINS TAX LIABILITY: INCREASED RELIEF FOR INDIVIDUALS
Any person’s capital gain or loss is determined, for each asset disposed of, during the year of assessment as follows: Proceeds xxxx Less: Base cost xxxx Equals: Capital gain or loss xxxx In order to calculate a taxable capital gain, the sum of all the capital gains and losses for each asset (determined separately) disposed of […]
