Recent studies have indicated that only 6% of South African citizens can maintain their standard of living during retirement. This is of great concern to both the government and individuals. In an attempt to counter this dilemma, the government has implemented several new tax exemptions and deductions to encourage taxpayers to increase their retirement savings. However, uncertainty exists regarding the effectiveness of these exemptions and deductions. For individuals to benefit from same, they will need to be informed on and understand the principles on which they are based. Above all, South African citizens need to grasp the importance of ensuring their financial security during retirement, which will hopefully create a culture of saving for that purpose. South Africans therefore need to increase their level of financial and tax literacy, either by informing themselves in that regard, or by consulting with professionals. This study was conducted from a South African perspective and focused on the probability of financial and tax literacy increasing financial independence during retirement. The data presented in this study was collected by means of two questionnaires, which were emailed to a selection of participants. The purpose of this study was first to determine the financial and tax literacy of South Africans with regard to retirement planning and second, to determine whether financial and tax literacy could increase financial independence during retirement. This study is an empirical study since primary data was collected specifically for this research project. Based on the data obtained by means of the questionnaires, it was concluded that the financial and tax literacy of the majority of South Africans is not sufficient to intentionally benefit from tax-beneficial retirement funds and investments. It was further concluded that although the majority of South Africans are not sufficiently financially literate to be able to optimise their retirement savings, they are willing to improve their level of financial and tax literacy and increase their savings towards retirement once they have been informed and have gained some understanding in this regard. Therefore, financial and tax literacy can potentially increase financial independence during retirement. / Mini Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Taxation / MCom / Unrestricted

In 2018, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) issued a media statement providing guidance for the first time to South African citizens on the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions. The SARS media guidelines indicate that the normal income tax rules of the South African Income Tax Act will apply to cryptocurrency transactions and that cryptocurrency gains or losses must be declared as part of taxable income. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the ability of South African taxpayers to determine the income tax consequences of cryptocurrency transactions using the SARS media guidelines. Previous research has focused on establishing the theoretical income tax consequences of cryptocurrency transactions, rather than on the ability of taxpayers to determine those consequences. The study made use of both doctrinal and quantitative research methods to address the research questions. Using doctrinal research, in-depth document analysis was performed to benchmark the SARS media guidelines to that of selected tax authorities, to ascertain the completeness of this guidance. Quantitative data was collected through a cross-sectional survey questionnaire, to test the ability of participants to determine the income tax consequences of cryptocurrency transactions. This study found that the SARS media guidelines did not comprehensively address all the cryptocurrency transactions considered by the guidelines of the other selected tax authorities examined. The SARS media guidelines did not have a statistically significant effect on the participants' ability to determine the income tax consequences of the cryptocurrency transactions presented to them. However, the tax literacy level of participants was found to influence their understanding of the income tax consequences of cryptocurrency transactions, particularly in respect of those transactions not addressed by the SARS media guidelines. These findings support the recommendation that SARS provide more comprehensive guidance to taxpayers, and should focus on improving the tax literacy of taxpayers in general and, with respect to cryptocurrency transactions.