The intersection between taxation and insolvency — The South African Revenue Service’s preference

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-817
Author(s):  
Carika Fritz ◽  
Thabo Legwaila

When a debtor’s estate is sequestrated or an insolvent company is wound up, insolvency and taxation intersect whenever the debtor or company has an outstanding tax debt. This article considers whether the South African Revenue Service should, or could, be provided with a better standing in cases of insolvency. From a comparison of the situations in South Africa, Mauritius, Australia and the United Kingdom, it is clear that South Africa’s approach of determining the order of distribution in relation to tax claims based on the type of tax is in line with the approaches of Mauritius and the United Kingdom. However, s 179 of the Tax Administration Act and ss 114 and 147(1) of the Customs and Excise Act may have an impact on a claim by the South African Revenue Service in the event of insolvency. In this respect, we argue that, in instances where a taxpayer is sequestrated or wound up due to insolvency, the Insolvency Act and the Companies Act should take precedence. Since the Insolvency Act provides for a clear order of distribution both in respect of the insolvent estates of natural persons and when an insolvent company is wound up, tax legislation in South Africa should not be used to deviate from this order of distribution.

1974 ◽  
Vol 21 (01) ◽  
pp. 58-69
Author(s):  
P. W. Barke

1.1. It is over 17 years since the paper ‘The Actuary in South Africa’ (1) was discussed. In South Africa as elsewhere great changes have taken place and it was felt appropriate to bring the position up to date. Nevertheless those interested are recommended to refer to the 1957 paper and not least to Mr R. G. Mallett's introduction to the discussion. Since the decision was taken to write this paper, Mr Spedding's paper ‘The Actuary in Australia’ (2) has been presented and to facilitate comparison, I have followed the general outline of that paper.1.2. The South African currency is Rands and cents (100 cents equals one Rand). Since South Africa did not follow the United Kingdom devaluation of 1967 the parity was R. 12 equals £7 sterling but South Africa devalued at the end of 1971 and then R. 2 was almost the same as £1. At the time of writing the pound is roughly equivalent to 1·5 Rand.


Author(s):  
Rehana Cassim

Director tenure attracts attention worldwide and is increasingly being recognised as a crucial element in assessing an external (independent non-executive) director’s independence. Director tenure has recently come under the spotlight in South Africa. Shareholder activists are expressing disapproval of lengthy tenures of directors serving on boards of listed public companies and exerting pressure on long-serving directors to resign from office. This article examines whether the South African corporate governance principles regulating director tenure are adequate or in need of revision. The article examines further the corporate governance practices in leading jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India that have recently revised their corporate governance practices. It then makes recommendations for enhancing the South African corporate governance approach to director tenure. It also calls on directors to collaborate with shareholders and independent external experts to examine their approach to director tenure and, if circumstances allow, revise the company’s memorandum of incorporation to limit directors’ tenure or provide for a staggered rotation of directors on the board.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Rehana Cassim

Abstract Section 162 of the South African Companies Act 71 of 2008 empowers courts to declare directors delinquent and hence to disqualify them from office. This article compares the judicial disqualification of directors under this section with the equivalent provisions in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America, which have all influenced the South African act. The article compares the classes of persons who have locus standi to apply to court to disqualify a director from holding office, as well as the grounds for the judicial disqualification of a director, the duration of the disqualification, the application of a prescription period and the discretion conferred on courts to disqualify directors from office. It contends that, in empowering courts to disqualify directors from holding office, section 162 of the South African Companies Act goes too far in certain respects.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1126-1129
Author(s):  
Indrajit Banerjee ◽  
Jared Robinson ◽  
Indraneel Banerjee ◽  
Brijesh Sathian

The SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease termed COVID-19 ripped through the globe in the latter part of 2019 and has left a state of fear, death and destruction in its wake. The Omicron variant was officially announced by the South African authorities on the 24th of November 2021, with the first confirmed sample of the infection being collected on the 9th of November 2021. The initial cases were flagged as a possible new variant due to the stark differences in the presentation and clinical features of the patients. At the time of Omicron’s discovery, the predominant variant circulating within South Africa was the Delta variant B.1.617.2 which typically presented with more severe and stark symptoms.  Omicron spread rapidly within the Southern African content and abroad, principally South Africa, Botswana, Hongkong and Israel were among the first countries to record cases of the new variant. The first European case of the Omicron variant was confirmed on the 26th of November 2021 in Belgium. Towards the end of November 2021 cases of the new variant had been confirmed and recorded in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Scotland. Additional cases of the Omicron variant have been confirmed in Canada and Australia. At this current point in the development of the Omicron upsurge in cases the international community should aim for further vaccinations among their fellow countrymen, but more so vaccine equality should be ensured. Such equality should be ensured in the developing nations as the virus does not respect any boundaries or territories and thus a higher level of vaccination worldwide will confer greater protection to the global community as a whole.


1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
David F. Gordon

Despite continued American insistence that a negotiating impasse had not been reached, by the final months of 1982 it seemed clear that internationally-recognized independence for Namibia would not soon be achieved. While Washington claimed that negotiations between South Africa, Angola, and the Southwest African Peoples Organization (SWAPO) (with the U.S. as mediator) remain meaningful, there appears to have been a decisive move away from settlement. The latest round of negotiations, spearheaded by the United States as the leading element of the Western Contact Group (the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, and Canada), has attempted to move South African-controlled Namibia to independence on the basis of Security Council Resolution 435 of September 1978.


Author(s):  
Jacolien Barnard

The implementation of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) has great implications for the South African common law of sale. In this contribution the influence of the CPA on the seller’s common law duty to warrant the buyer against eviction is investigated. Upon evaluation of the relevant provisions of the CPA, the legal position in the United Kingdom – specifically the provisions of the Sales of Goods Act of 1979 – is investigated.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikhil Faulkner ◽  
Kevin W. Ng ◽  
Mary Wu ◽  
Ruth Harvey ◽  
Marios Margaritis ◽  
...  

We examined the immunogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant B.1.1.7 that arose in the United Kingdom and spread globally. Antibodies elicited by B.1.1.7 infection exhibited significantly reduced recognition and neutralisation of parental strains or of the South Africa B.1.351 variant, than of the infecting variant. The drop in cross-reactivity was more pronounced following B.1.1.7 than parental strain infection, indicating asymmetric heterotypic immunity induced by SARS-CoV-2 variants.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle De Bruyn

South Africa has received its own data protection legislation - the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act - in November 2013 and is expecting the government to appoint an Information Regulator to enforce the letter of the law. Until then, South African businesses will have time to get their house in order, but uncertainty exists as to how businesses will be affected when this happens. It is anticipated that the enforcement activities by the Information Regulator will be similar to how it is done by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the United Kingdom. The ICO has been enforcing compliance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) of the United Kingdom since it obtained its enforcement powers in April 2010. This article summarises all actions taken by the ICO from April 2010 until the end of December2013 to determine the industries most affected, the contraventions with the highest frequency and, where applicable, the highest monetary fines. This article should provide some insight into what South African businesses can expect after the Information Regulator is appointed and starts to enforce the law. It will also enable them to focus their attention on the safeguarding of business areas with increased data protection risks as well as provide some counter measures that can be taken to prevent punishable contraventions.


1957 ◽  
Vol 14 (04) ◽  
pp. 348-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. de Smidt ◽  
H. Schermann ◽  
D. W. Williams ◽  
G. Rodger

The history of the actuarial profession in South Africa starts, as far as is known, during the last decade of the nineteenth century when three actuaries arrived in the Cape Colony from the United Kingdom. Two of these took up positions with the two South African life offices which were then in existence and the third became Government Actuary to the Cape Colony. By the time the Union of South Africa was established in 1910, four more actuaries had arrived from the United Kingdom, and a further four had arrived by 1920. Some of these gentlemen established permanent homes in this country, while others returned overseas after varying periods of time. It was no doubt due to these early beginnings that the actuarial homes of South African actuaries are today London and Edinburgh.The first South African-born actuary qualified as a Fellow of the Faculty in 1921, and since that time increasing numbers of South Africans have become qualified, mostly as Fellows of the Faculty.


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