Archive for Daniel Erasmus

South African 2018 Budget Speech

Report from our correspondent Lutando Mvovo, South Africa
Budget for 2018-19 – direct taxation.

The Budget for 2018-19 was presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance on 21 February 2018. Details of the Budget with respect to direct taxation, which, unless stated otherwise, will apply from 1 March 2018, are summarized below. For details with respect to indirect taxation, see South Africa-1, News 22 February 2018.

(a) Corporate taxation
The Budget proposes, among other things, to:
– Review the controlled foreign company high tax exemption; Read More

Written by | Posted in South Africa Tax

Are You Dealing With South African Tax, Legal and Financial Questions?

Africa Tax Legal Financial Questions

We have good news for anyone conducting business in South Africa. One of our super smart tax experts, Dr. Daniel Erasmus recently acquired the Africa Tax, Law and Finance Hub and is offering complimentary access to the site for a limited time only.

We highly recommend you go view our tax professionals video section and scroll down to meet him in the video presentation he has on TaxConnections. If you have any business operations in South Africa, Dr. Erasmus is extraordinarily knowledgeable on the subject. Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Legislation • Tax Planning • Tax Policy • Tax Tips • Tax Updates

§ 165(e) Loss Claimed On Theft of Money/Investment

I am pleased to announce another successful settlement for a client.

IRS denied a big deduction based on a Ponzi type investment stating the taxpayer had claimed the deduction in the wrong year. It must be the year it came to his attention and only up to the amount lost especially if there is a chance to recover some in the future.

The matter was set to go to trial in Miami, but I reached agreement he would deduct 80% in the year the loss was claimed and 20% in the year in which there was certainty he had lost everything. That year is still open to claim the 20%. Protective filings were made by his accountant.

The turning point was making clear the evidence we would present to back-up the client’s claim. This convinced the Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Controversy • Tax Fraud/Evasion/Crimes • Tax Risk Management

SARS Is Aggressive – Recent Complaints In The South African Parliament

There are extensive rights that are available to taxpayers at the commencement of an audit in South Africa.

They are contained in the Tax Administration Act (TAA), the Constitution and the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. These issues are dealt with in the series of presentations that revolve around tax controversies in Africa and South Africa by Dr Daniel N. Erasmus, a tax controversy specialist in Africa, who resides and consults from the USA. What follows is a recent article published in South Africa about the aggressive moves by SARS:

ARTICLE – THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) is adopting more aggressive tactics to extract information from taxpayers as it tries to achieve a revenue target during a Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa

Companies Divert Huge Amounts of Cash Out of Africa

Large corporations conduct vast scams to avoid paying taxes levied by African governments, according to a joint UN–African Union report cited by the Wall Street Journal. Because the governments lack the expertise and enforcement clout to halt such practices, companies frequently underreport the goods they import or sell in order to avoid taxes, and the resulting profits are typically diverted overseas, with the result that as much as $60 billion is illegally moved out of Africa annually, the report says.

These reports will only stimulate Transfer Pricing reviews by African Tax Authorities.

For additional information about Africa specific Transfer Pricing, connect with me on TaxConnections. Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Transfer Pricing

Taxpayers Rights When Audited By Tax Authorities In South Africa (Chapter 7.7) Final Post

Posted in sections, this is my Doctoral Thesis on taxpayers rights when audited by the tax authorities in South Africa – equally applicable to many English-based law systems in Africa and abroad (eg. India). This will be of particular use to any tax practitioners doing work in Africa and in other English-based legal systems around the world.

Analysis of Challenging The Commissioner’s Discretionary Powers In Auditing Taxpayers under The Constitution of The Republic of South Africa

CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION

7.7 THE PROPOSED TAX ADMINISTRATION ACT – Final Post Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Audit

Taxpayers Rights When Audited By Tax Authorities In South Africa (Chapter 7.6)

Posted in sections, this is my Doctoral Thesis on taxpayers rights when audited by the tax authorities in South Africa – equally applicable to many English-based law systems in Africa and abroad (eg. India). This will be of particular use to any tax practitioners doing work in Africa and in other English-based legal systems around the world.

Analysis of Challenging The Commissioner’s Discretionary Powers In Auditing Taxpayers under The Constitution of The Republic of South Africa

CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION

7.6 ‘JUST CAUSE’ SHOWN DEFENCE40 Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Audit

Taxpayers Rights When Audited By Tax Authorities In South Africa (Chapter 7.5)

Posted in sections, this is my Doctoral Thesis on taxpayers rights when audited by the tax authorities in South Africa – equally applicable to many English-based law systems in Africa and abroad (eg. India). This will be of particular use to any tax practitioners doing work in Africa and in other English-based legal systems around the world.

Analysis of Challenging The Commissioner’s Discretionary Powers In Auditing Taxpayers under The Constitution of The Republic of South Africa

CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION

7.5 REVIEW IN TERMS OF SS 6, 7 and 8 OF PAJA OR THE PRINCIPLE OF LEGALITY Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Audit

Taxpayers Rights When Audited By Tax Authorities In South Africa (Chapter 7.4)

Posted in sections, this is my Doctoral Thesis on taxpayers rights when audited by the tax authorities in South Africa – equally applicable to many English-based law systems in Africa and abroad (eg. India). This will be of particular use to any tax practitioners doing work in Africa and in other English-based legal systems around the world.

Analysis of Challenging The Commissioner’s Discretionary Powers In Auditing Taxpayers under The Constitution of The Republic of South Africa

CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION

7.4 ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION, THE RULE OF LAW AND THE PRINCIPLE OF LEGALITY Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Audit

Taxpayers Rights When Audited By Tax Authorities In South Africa (Chapter 7.3)

Posted in sections, this is my Doctoral Thesis on taxpayers rights when audited by the tax authorities in South Africa – equally applicable to many English-based law systems in Africa and abroad (eg. India). This will be of particular use to any tax practitioners doing work in Africa and in other English-based legal systems around the world.

Analysis of Challenging The Commissioner’s Discretionary Powers In Auditing Taxpayers under The Constitution of The Republic of South Africa

CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION

7.3 SECTION 195(1) OF THE CONSTITUTION Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Audit

Transfer Pricing: 25% Rule of Thumb Not Applicable To Determining Royalty Rates

Attached please find a recent U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit case (September 16, 2014 in VirnetX, Inc. v. Cisco Sys., Inc.) in which a U.S. court finds again the “25 percent rule of thumb” to determine royalty rates inadmissible:

“[W]e agree with the courts that have rejected invocations of the Nash theorem without sufficiently establishing that the premises of the theorem actually apply to the facts of the case at hand. The use here was just such an inappropriate “rule of thumb.” Previously, damages experts often relied on the “25 percent rule of thumb” in determining a reasonable royalty rate in a hypothetical negotiation. That rule hypothesized that 25% of the value of the infringing product would remain with the patentee, while the remaining 75% would go to the licensee. [W]e held the “25 percent rule of thumb” to be inadmissible Read More

Written by | Posted in International • OECD • Transfer Pricing

Taxpayers Rights When Audited By Tax Authorities In South Africa (Chapter 7.2)

Posted in sections, this is my Doctoral Thesis on taxpayers rights when audited by the tax authorities in South Africa – equally applicable to many English-based law systems in Africa and abroad (eg. India). This will be of particular use to any tax practitioners doing work in Africa and in other English-based legal systems around the world.

Analysis of Challenging The Commissioner’s Discretionary Powers In Auditing Taxpayers under The Constitution of The Republic of South Africa

CHAPTER 7 – CONCLUSION

7.2 SECTION 33 OF THE CONSTITUTION AND PAJA Read More

Written by | Posted in Africa • Audit
« Older Entries