Thesis (MAcc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Leases are common phenomena in the South African and international business arena. Leasing is a popular and often cheaper method to obtain the use of property without the property being acquired. Included in property is immovable, movable, tangible and intangible property. The premature termination of lease agreements are also a common phenomenon in the South African and international business arena. When a lease is terminated prematurely, it is currently the practice that the person who terminates the lease agreement has to pay a termination penalty to the other party of the lease agreement. A lease agreement can however be terminated by either the lessee or the lessor. When both the paying and receiving parties assess their income tax liabilities, they may be confronted with the issue of how the payment or receipt of the termination penalty should be treated for income tax purposes. In practice there currently exists uncertainty whether the penalty should be treated as revenue- or capital in nature. The nature of this penalty depends on the background facts and must be judged individually on the basis of the guidelines approved by the courts laid down with respect to the issue of income versus capital. For this issue to be satisfactorily answered, the income tax treatments of lease termination penalties in Australia, Canada and the United States of America are investigated. The purpose of this study is to find guidelines, tools and principles to be used in a South African context, which may lead to the efficient and careful handling of lease termination penalties for South African tax purposes. The treatment of a lease termination penalty under current South African tax legislation is also studied. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Huurooreenkomste is alledaagse verskynsels in die Suid-Afrikaanse en internasionale sakesektor. Dit is gewilder en dikwels goedkoper vir besighede om eiendom te huur, eerder as om dit te koop, om sodoende die gebruik van die eiendom te bekom. Ingesluit by eiendom wat gehuur word is onroerende-, roerende-, tasbare- en ontasbare eiendom. Die voortydige beëindiging van huurooreenkomste is ook „n alledaagse verskynsel in die Suid-Afrikaanse en internasionale sakesektor. Waar ‟n huurooreenkoms voortydig beëindig word, is dit tans die praktyk dat die persoon wat die huurooreenkoms beëindig „n beëindigingsboete moet betaal aan die ander party in die huurooreenkoms. Die huurooreenkoms kan egter deur óf die huurder óf die verhuurder beëindig word. Wanneer beide die betalende party en die ontvangende party se inkomste-belastingaanspreeklikhede bereken word, kan hulle gekonfronteer word met die vraag oor hoe om die betaling of ontvangste van die beëindigingsboete vir inkomstebelasting-doeleindes te hanteer. Daar bestaan tans in die praktyk onsekerheid of die betaling of die ontvangste van hierdie beëindigingsboete kapitaal of inkomste van aard is. Die vraag of die betaling of ontvangste inkomste of kapitaal van aard is, hang dikwels af van die agtergrondfeite en moet elkeen individueel beoordeel word aan die hand van die riglyne wat reeds deur die howe neergelê is rondom inkomste teenoor kapitaal. Ten einde die vraagstuk bevredigend te beantwoord, word ondersoek ingestel na die inkomstebelastinghantering van beëindigingsboetes in Australië, Kanada en die Verenigde State van Amerika. Die doel van hierdie ondersoek is om potensiële riglyne, hulpmiddels of beginsels te identifiseer wat binne ‟n Suid-Afrikaanse konteks toegepas kan word en wat kan lei tot die effektiewe en deurdagte hantering van beëindigingsboetes vir Suid-Afrikaanse inkomstebelastingdoeleindes. Verder word die inkomstebelastinghantering van beëindigingsboetes ingevolge huidige bestaande Suid-Afrikaanse inkomstebelasting-wetgewing ondersoek.

This dissertation investigates the hypotheses that high transaction costs contribute to relatively low participation rates in livestock leasing in South Africa; and that specific contractual characteristics contribute to minimising total transaction costs of livestock leasing contracts in South African commercial agriculture. Many emerging livestock farming businesses may value the option of leasing-in livestock. Likewise, many established livestock farming businesses are currently undergoing expansion (especially dairy farms) and may also value the option of leasing-in livestock. A reduction in transaction costs and an improvement in efficiency of the livestock lease market could prove beneficial for emerging/expanding livestock farms. Likewise, investors, who anticipate competitive rates of return from investments in livestock, may value the option of owning and leasing-out livestock to suitable farm businesses. Transaction costs in livestock rental contracts include costs of information about contracts, costs of monitoring and enforcing contracts, costs of finding party members to contract with, the costs of risk of an agreement being terminated due to exogenous factors such as land claims, the risk of incomplete contracts and the costs of risk bought about by adverse selection and moral hazard. The magnitude of transaction costs incurred by participants of a livestock leasing contract are a function of how costs and risks are shared between the lessee and lessor, the inclusion of specific contractual clauses, the type of leasing contract, the relationship between party members and additional contractual characteristics. A census postal survey of two populations of livestock farmers, namely members of the Jersey Breeders' Societies of South Africa, was conducted during April and May 2007 to collect data on farmers' perceptions of and their participation in livestock rental contracting agreements. Elicited data was analysed using a multinomial discriminant analysis to identify factors that discriminate between non-participants of the livestock leasing market, lessees of livestock and lessors of livestock. Ordinary least squares regression was used to identify preferred characteristics of livestock lease contracts. Results of the first analysis suggest that a livestock leasing market does exist in South Africa; however, the market is characterised by high transaction costs. Non-participation in livestock leasing markets amongst survey respondents is partially attributable to the high perceived costs of obtaining market information and establishing and enforcing livestock lease agreements. Findings of the second analysis show that survey respondents, on average, showed a preference for formal agreements, leasing commercial animals for shorter periods and keeping detailed inventories. It is concluded that providing livestock farmers with information about important characteristics of successful livestock lease agreements may reduce transaction costs, and thus reduce market inefficiency in the market. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Notes: i) the terms "lessee" and "tenant" are used alternatively, the latter only when quoted ii) the terms "lessor" and "landlord" are used alternatively, the latter only when quoted / The research intends to assess the availability of information to determine the contribution of turnover rent to lessor revenue as the publicly available information on building performance, and in specific turnover rent, is not adequate to answer the research problem. Academic, legal and accounting sources are consulted and referenced as background on turnover rent. Limitations applicable to the study is noted. A content analysis of published financial statements analyses the application of the prevailing accounting standards in the real estate sector and assesses to what extent information is available to determine the contribution of turnover rent to lessor revenue. Disclosure was found to be inconsistent and inadequate to calculate the contribution to lessor revenue and to assess individual building performance. With relevant building performance data of a large retail centre sourced from an asset manager, the contribution of turnover rent to lessor revenue was calculated for a period of eight years as part of a retail centre case study. With information available, but not disclosed, it is recommended that the IASB considers additional disclosure for listed real estate entities to enable stakeholders to assess individual building performance. Further recommendations are made in this study. The building performance indicators were further compared to relevant economic indicators. The results of this analysis indicates an indirect correlation between the prime interest rate and three building performance indicators being lessee turnover, total rent collected and centre foot-count. This confirms the strong reliance of the South African retail sector on credit sales. / Financial Accounting / M. Ph. (Accounting Sciences)