We have recently seen that the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”), in conducting audits in respect of taxpayer’s affairs, places reliance on section 99(4) of the Tax Administration Act, 2011 (“TAA”) to unilaterally extend the time period within which an assessment prescribes. Section 99(1) of the TAA deals with the period of limitation in respect of the issuance of assessments ...
Section 99 of the Tax Administration Act, 28 of 2011 (“Tax Admin Act”), which regulates prescription in relation to tax assessments, provides that a three-year prescription period applies where the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has had a previous opportunity to assess a taxpayer (e.g. income tax) and a five-year prescription period applies in the case of self-assessment (e.g. value added tax and employees’ tax) ...
In the 2017 South African Budget speech, the Minister of Finance raised government’s concern that the current Controlled Foreign Company (“CFC”) rules do not capture foreign companies held by interposed trusts or foundations, and it was announced that countermeasures for the treatment of foreign companies held by trusts or foundations will be considered ...
Union budget 2022-2023 Expectations Overview The economy of the resurgent India is expecting a road map with the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23. The Budget speech is likely to pen down new reforms and policies that helps the economy to maintain a sustained growth rate ...
Union budget 2022-2023 Expectations Overview The economy of the resurgent India is expecting a road map with the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23. The Budget speech is likely to pen down new reforms and policies that helps the economy to maintain a sustained growth rate. Accomplishing this shall rather be dependent on the ability and the capacity to locate additional revenue sources by striking a balancing of the expenses ...
GLIMPSES OF UNION BUDGET 2022 With the economy riding on the twin waves of rapid economic growth and increased tax collections, the Union Budget for 2022-23 was presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister on February 1, 2022. A wide gamut policy and tax matters were outlined by the Minister in her speech, many of which found its way into the Finance Bill. We have put together the key takeaways for direct tax and indirect tax from the Union Budget. Trust this would be helpful ...
Two recent Labour Court decisions have highlighted the duty of trade unions and their officials to act to prevent unprotected strikes and unlawful actions during the course of a strike. These add to the growing list of decisions in which the court has indicated that it will hold unions accountable for unlawful acts by their members ...
In recent years, there has been a surge in new union organizing efforts and tactics to unionize and organize employers in the state of Florida. From Amazon workers in Jacksonville to farmworkers in Immokalee, unions are imploring Floridian workers to turn to unions to help address issues like low wages, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. Unionizing has become more heavily publicized, even romanticized, in the media and many employees have bought in to the movement ...
Commentators have argued that the effect of this legislation is to force employers to recognise trade unions against their will as there appears to have been a move away from the traditional voluntarist approach to negotiations with trade unions towards a compulsory approach ...
The historically low interest rates recently announced by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the depressed value of certain assets offer opportunities for estate planning techniques that can reduce the cost of transferring wealth to younger generations. The federal estate and gift tax exemption for 2020 is $11,580,000 per person ($23,160,000 for a married couple) ...
On June 30, 2020, the Senate passed an extension of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to keep the program operating until August 8, 2020. On July 1, 2020, the House also approved the extension for the program which was set to end on June 30. The President is expected to sign the extension shortly ...
On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court adopted a narrow definition of “whistleblower” in retaliation cases arising under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd Frank), concluding the anti-retaliation provisions of Dodd-Frank only apply to employees who report claims of wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), not to employees who report internally. In Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v ...
The White House announced on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, that in early November of this year, it intends to end the COVID-19 travel bans imposed in 2020 and replace them with vaccination and COVID-19 testing requirements for almost all travelers ...
With greater emphasis being placed on employee wellbeing in recent times and in a bid to remain competitive in the market, some employers have sought to increase holiday entitlement and provide ‘unlimited’ annual leave each year. What does this mean? In theory, ‘unlimited’ holiday means employees can take as many paid days off work as they wish. In practice, however, it is not quite as straightforward as it sounds ...
This week, Westlaw Today published an article by Dinsmore partner J.T. Wilson III about the generational shift in attitudes toward racial equity in light of George Floyd's death and about how business owners and employers must react accordingly ...
South Africa is in lockdown in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, and although we aren’t able to meet face-to-face over this period, we know how important it is to stay in touch, and we will continue to keep you up-to-date on recent tax developments. In this regard, it feels like a lifetime ago that the South African Minister of Finance delivered his 2020 Budget Speech on 26 February 2020 ...
This eighth edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, follows what we hope was a restful and meaningful Memorial Day weekend. For the third week in a row, shutdown challenges, workers' compensation claims, and wrongful death lawsuits have dominated the news cycle. But, we are also seeing a continuation in refund claims and an uptick in fraud claims involving everything from alleged misuse of sick days to corporate press releases ...
In terms of section 222(1) of the South African Tax Administration Act, 2011 (the “TAA”), “[i]n the event of an ‘understatement’ by a taxpayer, the taxpayer must pay, in addition to the ‘tax’ payable for the relevant tax period, the understatement penalty determined under subsection (2) unless the ‘understatement’ results from a bona fide inadvertent error” (our emphasis) ...
This fall, an outbreak of lung illnesses allegedly related to vaping ignited public hysteria and legislative reactions in many states. The vaping and cannabis industries are already paying, and will continue to pay, high reputational and policy costs associated with these events, and the industries should also be aware that the widespread nature of reported injuries could lead to a substantial amount of costly mass tort litigation ...
The Home Office has announced changes to employer right to work checks, effective 6 April 2022 that all employers must be aware of. Carrying out right to work checks is an essential part of the recruitment process and it is important that employers are always up to date with any changes in this area. At present, employers must ask new recruits for physical evidence of their right to work in the UK, such as a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) ...
There are several upcoming events and deadlines that are relevant to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) “large employer” emergency temporary standard (the “ETS”), which require businesses with 100 or more employees to adopt a policy that either (1) requires all employees to be vaccinated, unless otherwise entitled to a medical, disability, or religious accommodation, or (2) requires all unvaccinated employees to be maske
UPDATE: On December 21, 2015, Common Pleas Judge Joseph James struck down the employee sick leave ordinance, ruling that Pittsburgh’s City Council lacked authority to “to enact any ordinance determining any duty, responsibility or requirement of a business or private employer.” The ordinance would have required employers of more than 15 employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year and smaller employers to offer up to 24 hours of paid sick leave ...
Every year, several judgments are rendered in penal law cases involving occupational health and safety issues. However, judgments in an occupational health and safety context resulting from the laying of criminal negligence charges are more rare. While the sections of the Criminal Code1 which facilitate the filing of criminal negligence charges are now ten years old2, criminal negligence convictions in Quebec based on breaches of section 217 ...
