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“Failure by an employer to comply with its obligations does not only harm that employer and the fiscus, but also employees. SARS vigorously pursues employers that fail to comply.” (SARS) Employers must submit their annual reconciliation declarations (EMP501) with accurate and up-to-date payroll information about their employees by 31 May this year. This is among the requirements imposed on employers by the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act: deducting or…  Read more

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”- (Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company) Data from StatsSA has shown that more than 1,500 businesses closed their doors for good in South Africa last year. This can come as no surprise to anyone who conducts business in South Africa at the moment, with spiralling costs, high interest rates and other tough market conditions that include frequent load…  Read more

“It is imperative that ALL companies and close corporations ensure compliance with the beneficial ownership filing requirements, to ensure good corporate governance and business continuity.” (CIPC) Following changes to the Companies Act on 24 May 2023, company directors and members of close corporations are obliged to lodge and maintain a detailed Beneficial Ownership (BO) Register, along with a list of supporting documents with the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission). This…  Read more

“The Internet is a worldwide platform for sharing information. It is a community of common interests. No country is immune to such global challenges as cybercrime, hacking, and invasion of privacy” – (Lu Wei, the head of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Internet Security and Informatization from August 2013 to June 2016) On the 1st of March 2024, the CIPC admitted it had been hacked. The…  Read more

07 May – PAYE submissions and payments 24 May– Value-Added Tax (VAT) manual submissions and payments 30 May – Excise duty payments 31 May – VAT electronic submissions and payments, & Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Provisional Tax payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage…  Read more

“The cold, harsh reality is that we have to balance the budget.” (Michael Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor) Budget shortfalls are not uncommon across the public and private sectors, especially in these economically challenging times. A budget shortfall is a significant concern for any individual or organisation and should be corrected promptly. To address the R15 billion shortfall in National Budget 2024, the South African government earlier this year…  Read more

“Find the right price for an irresistible offer, which, by the way, isn’t necessarily the lower price.” ― (W. Chan Kim, Business strategy advisor and author)        A good businessperson pays attention to the price of their products. With accountants by their side, they wisely analyse every expense, tax and logistical possibility to ensure their product goes out at the best rate for maximum profitability. Like with everything in society, no…  Read more

“People are not your most important asset. The right people are.” (Jim Collins, author, speaker and consultant) Knowing whether to hire a freelancer or full-time employee for any particular role is vital for the successful running of a modern business. With budgets constantly being constrained and the pressure to perform going up, ensuring you maximise your workforce is absolutely essential if you want to build a successful company. Here is our…  Read more

“[The new requirements] enable… a more efficient process to make deductions available to qualifying donor taxpayers and to help prevent section 18A claims abuse.” (SARS) Public benefit organisations (PBOs) are engaged in public benefit activities for example religious institutions, day care centres, disaster relief organisations, health clinics, etc. Many are dependent on donations and, to encourage the public’s generosity, a tax deduction for certain donations made by taxpayers is provided.…  Read more

05 April – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 25 April – VAT manual submissions and payments 29 April – Excise Duty payments 30 April – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising…  Read more

“Our bigger challenge… is that our pie is not growing fast enough and this limits our ability to generate sufficient revenues to distribute among our priority areas.” (Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana – Budget 2024) Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s third Budget Speech in an election year contained few surprises, but also little in the form of good news, especially for South Africa’s personal income tax payers. The Minister quoted dismal local…  Read more

Budget 2024 effectively brought an increase in personal income tax by not adjusting the tables for tax rates, rebates and medical tax credits, while also implementing substantial increases in ‘sin’ taxes and introducing a proposed global tax on multinational companies. This selection of official SARS Tax Tables and other useful resources will help clarify your tax position for the new tax year. Then follow the link to Fin 24’s Budget…  Read more

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price, than a fair company at a wonderful price.”- (Warren Buffett, investor, businessman and philanthropist) When buying a small business there are a number of things that need to be checked before pulling the trigger and signing the contract. Doing proper due diligence will ensure you don’t invest hard earned money on a lemon. Here are the five most…  Read more

“The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.” – (Henry Ford, Founder, Ford Motor Company) In a world where everything seems more expensive today than it was yesterday training and advancement of staff can seem of lesser importance. As an increasing number of studies show, however, this could not be further from the truth. A lack of training…  Read more

07 March – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 25 March – VAT manual submissions and payments 27 March – Excise duty payments 28 March – End of the 2023/24 Financial year, Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments, & CIT Provisional payments where applicable. Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor…  Read more

“Provisional tax is merely a mechanism to pay the normal income tax liability during the tax year… an advance payment of a taxpayer’s normal tax liability.” (SARS) To provisional taxpayers, especially those who are liable for provisional tax in both their personal capacities and as business owners, it may well seem that there are endless provisional tax deadlines and payments to be made every year. There are indeed numerous income…  Read more

“Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it’s the lifeblood of business” (Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur, investor, and author) Cash is king, said one anonymous business genius. At the end of the day, it’s having money in the bank that keeps a company running smoothly. According to a recent study by Sibongiseni Selby Myeni at the Walden University, the majority of SA’s small to medium enterprises are destined for…  Read more

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” (Steve Jobs) There are many benefits to having a great team, and these have been backed up by scientific research around the world. These include, for example: Improved productivity, with thousands of employees noting that having the respect of their peers is the number one reason they go the extra mile at work. Better…  Read more

“At least 40% of all businesses will die in the next 10 years… if they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new technologies.” John Chambers, former CEO of Cisco Systems) Around the boardroom tables of the world, one thing is on every agenda – digital transformation. From global conglomerates to SMEs, leadership is keenly aware that in a digital world, those who do not adapt…  Read more

07 February – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 23 February – Value-Added Tax (VAT) manual submissions and payments 28 February – Excise Duty payments 29 February – CIT Provisional Tax payments 29 February – PIT Provisional Tax payments 29 February – Value-Added Tax (VAT) electronic submissions and payments Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any…  Read more