Government measures in key jurisdictions 2nd edition final pages - Flipbook - Page 87
South Africa
The following provisional tax relief has been introduced by Government and is available to
tax-compliant SMMEs:
•
A deferral, for a period of 12 months, from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, of a portion of
provisional tax liabilities.
•
The first provisional tax payment is reduced to 15% (as opposed to 50%) of the estimated
total tax liability, while the second provisional tax payment is reduced to 65% (as opposed
to 100%) of the estimated total tax liability.
•
The remaining 35% tax liability is payable with the third provisional tax payment.
Other relief measures introduced by the Government:
8
Company
law matters
•
Fast-tracking of VAT refunds for smaller VAT vendors that are in a net refund position by
permitting the filing of VAT returns monthly instead of every two months.
•
Three month deferral for carbon tax liabilities from 31 July 2020 to 31 October 2020.
•
Deferral for excise taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
•
Tax-deductible limit for donations, currently 10% of taxable income, is increased to 20% in
respect of donations to the Solidarity Response Fund during the 2020/21 tax year.
•
Certain corporate tax measures that were going to be introduced in terms of which the
deductibility of interest expenses, as well as the utilisation of assessed losses, would have
been limited will be postponed to later legislative cycles.
•
An expansion of access to living annuities for a period of four months.
•
The Companies Act allows shareholder and board meetings to be held by way of
electronic communication, provided that all parties are able to participate in the meeting
and communicate concurrently without an intermediary. Meetings were already often
held, in whole or in part, by electronic means prior to Covid 19, however, the prevalence
thereof has increased substantially since the start of the pandemic.
Have any measures
been put in place
•
to accommodate
social distancing
(such as remote
general meetings)?
•
•
In addition to the holding of meetings by electronic means, the Companies Act permits
both shareholder and board resolutions to be adopted by means of round robin written
resolutions in appropriate circumstances without the need to hold a meeting.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) has also partnered with The Meeting
Specialist to launch the first virtual annual general meetings (“AGM”) for listed
companies in the RSA to enable clients to engage with shareholders while the country
is faced with tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
If a company holds a virtual-only AGM and does not allow shareholders to ask questions
in real time, without moderation, or requires all questions to be submitted in advance,
that meeting will not constitute an AGM for the purposes of the Act.
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