Blog

“This is not an austerity budget. It is a budget that makes tough trade-offs in the interests of the country’s short and long term prosperity.” (Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana – Budget 2023) Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s second Budget contained no major tax proposals, thanks to an improvement in revenue from higher collection in corporate and personal income taxes, and in customs duties. Instead, the focus of Budget 2023 was firmly on…  Read more

The big Budget Speech 2023 tax news was the introduction of tax incentives for investing in rooftop solar and renewable energy. The Budget also detailed tax relief in the form of adjusted tables for tax and rebates for individual taxpayers, adjusted tables for retirement tax and transfer duty, and the expected increases in ‘sin’ taxes. How will these changes affect you directly? To better understand the impact of the Budget…  Read more

“The time to prepare for disasters is before they happen” (Stephen Matheson, Vice President of Product at BridgeHead) Given how reliant we all are on our IT infrastructure, it will come as no surprise to learn that one of the worst things that can happen to a business is for a failure to occur in that department. Whether it’s fire, floods, or hacking, being taken offline can spell a serious…  Read more

“Making good judgements when one has complete data, facts, and knowledge is not leadership – it’s bookkeeping” (Dee Hock, Founder and CEO of VISA) When running a small business, it often feels like you are doing everything yourself, and some important tasks can slip under the radar. One aspect that should never be forgotten though is bookkeeping. While intimidating, keeping your finances in order need not be as hard as…  Read more

Employers and employees need to keep an eye on the annual increases in both the National Minimum Wage and the Earnings Threshold, summarised below for your convenience. Both are effective from 1 March 2023. The National Minimum Wage increase The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each “ordinary hour worked” has been increased by 9.6% from R23-19 to R25-42. Workers who have concluded learnership agreements in terms of the Skills Development…  Read more

7 March – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments  30 March – Excise Duty payments  31 March – End of the 2022/23 Financial Year  31 March – 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…  Read more

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” (Bill Gates) If you have founded a business then there is little less certain than that at some point in the future, you will get a bad review. It’s simply impossible to please all of the people all of the time, which is why many business owners say they don’t worry too much about reviews and try to keep on…  Read more

“Without a logbook, you will not be able to claim a travel deduction.” (SARS Travel Logbook 2022/23) Even while recovering from the economic impact of COVID and facing the challenges of power blackouts, businesses and their employees are also contending with the costs of travel that have reached historic highs. Thankfully, expenses related to business travel can be deducted from taxable income – reducing the tax liability for taxpayers, including…  Read more

“We want to assure business that by the time you get back to work in January, we will have a much more stable situation.” (Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, December 7, 2018) With loadshedding now a constant reality in our lives and Eskom and the government offering no signs of any form of short-term recovery, small business owners are being forced to increasingly adapt in order to survive. Here are…  Read more

“People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women.” (Unknown) The assessed loss rules have always allowed companies to deduct from their taxable income each year any assessed losses from previous years. The remaining assessed loss balances could be carried forward indefinitely. This meant that a company would only pay income tax once it made a taxable profit and all previous assessed losses had been deducted from…  Read more

“Finally, we pay tribute to the millions of South Africans, whose resilience and courage during these times of pandemic and economic hardship, is an inspiration to all of us who have the privilege to serve in the public sector.” (From the 2022 Budget Speech) Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has invited the public to share suggestions on the 2023 Budget he is expected to deliver on Wednesday 22 February 2023. Go…  Read more

7 February – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 27 February – Excise Duty payments 28 February – 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 from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact…  Read more

“We change our tools and then our tools change us.” (Jeff Bezos) Every January, individuals and businesses have an opportunity to take advantage of what is called the “Fresh Start Effect” – referring to research evidence that shows people are more likely to make positive changes at times that mark the start of a new time period and represent a new beginning, most notably the start of a new year.…  Read more

“Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets planning,” – Thomas Edison You have your idea, you have your mission statement and perhaps you even have an idea of who your first customers will be, but there are still a few things you should consider doing before you launch your company. When it comes to your finances doing these five things in advance will ready you and your business for…  Read more

“Being tax compliant… is not just good for you, but also contributes to the positive growth of our country’s economy which in turn benefits all South Africans.” (SARS) Businesses are often required to provide, confirm or share tax clearance information to another entity. This is because proof of tax compliance is an indicator of a company’s good standing in terms of its legal obligations and how well it is managed.…  Read more

“In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate,” Chester Karrass, Founder of Seminar group Karrass. At some point, around halfway through the pandemic, experts began to whisper that office space was dead. “No one will be using an office by 2023,” they said. And yet, while it’s true that office space use has declined steeply in some parts of the country, many companies are still…  Read more

6 January – Monthly Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) submissions and payments 30 January – Excise Duty payments 31 January – 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 from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact…  Read more

“A diligent buyer will want up to five years’ worth of profit and loss statements, bank statements, tax returns, leases, supplier and vendor contracts, and customer data.” (Barbara Findlay Schenck – Author “Selling Your Business for Dummies”)  The reasons why a business owner might decide to sell their business are many – perhaps to pursue a new or more exciting business opportunity, relocation, health reasons or retirement. Selling a business…  Read more

“I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.” (Brad Schneider, American congressman) At some point it’s more likely than not that your small business will require a business loan. A 2021 study done by Fundera (a US financial resource business that sources financing for small businesses) suggested that 56% of all small businesses will need a loan to expand operations,…  Read more

“[Taxpayers] should give at least the same priority to tax obligations as their other responsibilities.” (SARS’ Short Guide to the Tax Administration Act) SARS has wide powers when it comes to the collection of tax debts and just one of these is the power to collect money owed by taxpayers from third parties who hold money for those taxpayers, such as a bank. This means that SARS can indeed take…  Read more