M.Com. / Capital Gains Tax is levied in many Western (developed) countries and internationally it has withstood the test of many tax reform initiatives during recent years. As far as the introduction of Capital Gains Tax in South Africa is concerned, we are at the crossroads. A decision needs to be taken on the question of broadening the tax base to include capital gains. Historically the inclusion of capital gains in the tax base was rejected on the basis that it would be detrimental to the economy as a whole. Capital is seen to be the "income producing machine II and to levy tax on capital would be equivalent to consuming the asset that produces the income, which is taxable .in any event. On this basis it is argued that Capital Gains Tax would have a negative impact on capital forming and entrepreneurship. Since the April 1994 election it has become apparent that the new political dispensation has brought along a new vision or school of thought with regards to Capital Gains Tax. One of the objectives of the new government is to implement a tax system that would be seen by the masses to be fair and equitable. Besides the fact that additional income will have to be found {by way of increased or additional taxes} to fund the backlog in housing, medical services, education and training, etc, the whole issue of redistribution of wealth and wealth taxes may also have an impact on whether Capital Gains Tax is to be introduced in South Africa. Even though it is an undisputed fact that Capital Gains Tax should meet the above requirements, I am of the opinion that the real reason for the introduction of Capital Gains Tax in South Africa lies within the scope of an urgent need for the reformation of the South African tax system.

MComm, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, 2007 / In attempting to reform the tax system, the State has often relied on the principles of fairness (Vivian, 2006: 79). Indeed, part of the motivation for the introduction of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was that it could assist with wealth redistribution and bolstering of State revenue to be used to improve the lot of the poor (SARS, 2001). In turn, this would, according to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), mark the move to a more progressive tax system that was cognisant of the need for individuals to bear a proportionate share of the tax burden (COSATU, 2001). The principle of fairness and equality of taxes touched upon by the trade union and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is not a new idea, having been dealt with earlier by economists such as Adam Smith (1776), and Mill (1848). Smith (1776:V.II.II) Stated the so-called first canon of tax dealing with fairness as follows: ‘The subjects of the State ought to contribute to the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to revenue which they respectively enjoyed under the protection of the State. In the observation or neglect of this definition consists, what is called equality or inequality of taxation’ Approximately six years after CGT was first proposed this research seeks to explain what is meant by this classical principle of ‘fairness’ and re-examine the debate on whether or not CGT is aligned with this principle. To place the debate in a more modern context, it also seeks to consider whether key amendments to the Eighth Schedule to the Income Tax Act No.58 of 1962 (the Act) have made favourable ground in remedying perceived obstacles to the ideal of fairness identified when CGT was first proposed.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Breslau, (1930?). / Includes bibliographical references (iv-viii).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Comm.

The subject of this thesis is a comparison of the tax consequences in the UK and Canada of capital gains and losses realised by corporations, and by shareholders on their shares. The comparison is made with reference to certain principles derived from the recent report in Canada of the Royal Commission on Taxation. One of the basic axioms underlying the Commission's reccommendations was that the form in which a business is carried on or property is held should be neutral in its tax consequences. Two principles are extracted from this axiom, upon which the discussions in this thesis are based. The first principle requires that the taxation of corporations and their shareholders be integrated, so that no more taxes are paid on capital gains or other income accruing to a corporation than would have been paid had they accrued directly to an individual. In fact, discussion of the dividend tax credit given to individual shareholders and the right given to corporations to deduct certain dividends received from their income reveals a general position in both systems of partial integration only, with a fuller degree of integration being given by virtue of special provisions to private corporations in Canada and to certain investment companies in both systems. However, both systems are distorted by certain factors. On the one hand, the flat rate of tax paid by corporations induces individual, shareholders paying higher personal rates of Income Tax to cause the corporation to accumulate, rather than to distribute, its earnings. On the other hand, the lower rate of tax paid by all taxpayers on capital gains as opposed to other income causes the same shareholders to obtain their share of such accumulations in a manner which results in a capital gain in their hands and not ordinary income. This may be done either by virtue of a sale of the members’ shares or by obtaining a distribution from the corporation in capital form. Both systems have numerous provisions to discourage corporations from accumulating income and to convert what would otherwise be capital receipts in shareholders’ hands into income receipts. The result is to severely curtail the opportunities for tax avoidance through manipulating the form in which corporate surpluses are distributed. The second principle holds that there should be no tax payable on a capital gain when it results from a disposal which has only made a change in the legal form in which an asset is held and has made no change in its underlying beneficial ownership. This principle is recognised in both systems by many provisions which grant a deferral of tax on capital gains where an individual transfers assets to a corporation in return for shares, where a corporation transfers assets to another corporation which is controlled by it or directly or indirectly by another corporation which also controls the transferor (whether the transfer accompanies a corporate amalgamation or reconstruction or not) or where a shareholder's holding in a company is converted into another holding as the result of a corporate reconstruction or amalgamation or a conversion right attached to the shares. However, some equally obvious situations are not recognized in the same way, e.g. transfer of assets by a corporation to its controlling individual shareholder, so that it must be concluded that the statutes are somewhat selective in their application of this principle. Although this thesis is primarily concerned with corporations and their shareholders, it also deals with mutual fund trusts and unit trusts and their unit holders in the same fashion. The justification for this is the similarity of the function and tax treatment of these trusts to certain investment companies found in both systems. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1984. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-159). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (M.Com.(Taxation))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Abstract in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1959. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-220).

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-166).