Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-135) / The problem definition examined in this thesis is how employee share incentive schemes are taxed in the hands of employers and employees. This involved an analysis of the new section 8B and 8C of the Income Tax Act ("the Act") as well as the old section 8A. Sections 10, 1 1 (a), 56 and the Fourth, Seventh and Eighth Schedules to the Act were also studied. Case law was considered where applicable. Other areas that were investigated include the impact of IFRS 2 on employee share incentive schemes, the requirements of the Companies Act, the JSE Listing Requirements and Corporate Governance Guidance. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations include: • the amendment of certain sections of the Act (including making provision for the deductibility of expenses incurred and settled by way of issuing shares); • the issue of guidelines by SARS with relation to the taxation of share incentive schemes and the interaction between section 8C and the Eighth Schedule; • the introduction of a wider selection of "approved" employee share incentive schemes in the line of section 8B to fit the different needs of companies; • the alignment of the Income Tax Act with the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act; and • the availability of public information on employee share incentive schemes.

The main Acts applicable to the disposal of immovable property are the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981, the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937(DRA), the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986, the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970, the Transfer Duty Act 40 of 1949(TDA), the Value Added Tax Act 89 of 1991(VAT Act) and the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962(ITA). Apart from legislation there is also South African common law which is based on Roman-Dutch and English Law principles which also play an important role when dealing in immovable property. This dissertation focuses its review on the timing of immovable property transactions to determine the incidence of tax in South Africa and concentrates on the differences in the timing of ownership according to the ITA, VAT Act, TDA and DRA as well as common law principles. International accounting standards have been reviewed and a comparison drawn between the accounting treatment of a disposal and the tax treatment as well as a comparison drawn up between South Africa and Australia with regards to how for tax purposes the disposal of immovable property is treated. Statutory authority is necessary before taxes can be imposed and only the statute must be used in order to determine the liability for tax. Accounting or related principles are not taken into account when the tax liability is determined except in instances where the ITA specifically provides for it. The aim of this dissertation is to answer the question of whether there is a disconnect between the timing of the transfer of immovable property and the timing of the attendant taxation for the seller through analysing specifically the various Acts and laws which impact the transfer of immovable property.

Includes bibliographical references. / General anti avoidance provisions ("GAAR") in the Income Tax Act and the accompanying judicial doctrines have been developed to combat schemes that are designed primarily to avoid the incidence of taxation by exploitating the loopholes in the Act. On the other hand, trusts in South Africa have commonly been used as a means to warehouse and freeze assets in order to minimise estate duty and also in schemes designed to minimise or escape income tax and donations tax. In South Africa the GAAR provisions (sections 80A and 80L) are fairly new and there is no case law yet to provide guidance on the depth and its scope of application. This dissertation seeks to analyse the impact that the new provisions of the general anti avoidance rules and the so-called judicial doctrines have on transactions or schemes involving a trust. It will also try to answer whether the previous general anti avoidance rules (section 103(1) was effective against these schemes/transactions and, if not, whether the new provisions are effective against previously successful schemes/transactions.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73). / The Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 contains favourable concessions applicable to taxpayers who derive income from the carrying on of farming operations. Taxpayers who carry on processes of manufacture may also expect favourable fiscal treatment, albeit to a lesser extent. The most relevant concessions applicable to the aforementioned distinct classes of taxpayers are discussed, and where applicable, reference is made to judicial commentaries and the literature as regards potential interpretational difficulties. Accordingly, it is submitted that the first mentioned class of taxpayers above receive more extensive concessions with more favourable results than the latter.

Companies form the backbone of the South African economy and contribute significantly to the tax revenue of the country through both direct and indirect taxes. As a result of the 2007/2008 financial crisis businesses, especially private companies, have been under increasing financial pressure with many companies finally being liquidated as a result of these financial pressures. In 2011, as a means to aid financially distressed companies, the government introduced the concept of Business Rescue ("BR") into law through Chapter 6 of the Companies Act, No 71. of 2008 ("Companies Act"). Despite this attempt by government to provide companies with a means of financial relief BR has been relatively unsuccessful in SA with very few companies managing to be rescued. Companies due to their very nature are subject to many laws and regulations. It is for this reason that, when trying to consider the effectiveness of a particular law or regulation, one must look not only at the primary law but also consider the impact of any auxiliary laws and regulations that work in conjunction with the primary law. This dissertation therefore seeks to understand the financial impact of direct and indirect taxes ("Tax Laws") on a company in BR in order to determine whether these laws support or hinder BR. In this dissertation an overall understanding of BR is obtained by considering the development of BR in SA, the BR process as detailed in the Companies Act and the application of BR in SA including various statistics relating to BR. Thereafter we obtain an overall understanding of the Tax Laws that have been introduced in to SA law since the introduction of BR in SA law as well as some existing provisions of the Tax Laws that are applicable to companies in BR. From the understanding of these two laws we develop a financial evaluation criterion that is used to assess the financial impact of various tax strategies on a company in BR. For the final assessment of the financial impact of the Tax Laws an assessment is performed on the deductibility of BR expenditure in terms of S11(a) and 23(g) of the Income Tax Act, No. 58 of 1962 ("ITA"). Ultimately a conclusion is reached on the financial impact that the Tax Laws have on a company in BR and, at a high level, additional considerations that may improve the success rate of rehabilitating companies in BR.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / Africa has been experiencing significant growth over the last few years, with many seeing Africa as the next investment destination. This increased growth in international trade and investment could broaden and deepen the tax base for African countries which could be a source of additional tax revenue. In particular, the SADC comprises a group of African countries which has as one of their common goals the promotion of sustainable and equitable economic growth. One possible way of achieving this goal could be through the use of effective tax treaties, allowing for greater retention of taxing rights over income flows from FDI, which could go a long way in deepening and broadening the tax base for the SADC countries. This could assist the SADC countries in promoting the growth and development of their economies. A greater retention of taxing rights over income by the SADC countries could be achieved through the use of the UN Model. This Model has primarily been designed to assist developing countries in retaining greater taxing rights over income in order to assist with their development and growth.Therefore, this dissertation has primarily focused on the use of and variation from the UN Model treaty clauses by a group of SADC countries in order to determine the extent of the application of the provisions of the UN Model in the SADC countries’ tax treaties. This analysis has specifically considered the distributive rules of the UN Model dealing with the most common forms of income that are likely to arise from FDI, namely: business profits, income from immovable property, dividends, interest, royalties, capital gains, income from employment and pensions. The focus has been on whether the SADC countries have been able to retain greater taxing rights over these forms of income by making use of the provisions of the UN Model. However, at the same time, the analysis also considered the provisions of the OECD Model, as it recognised that the OECD Model is one of the most widely used Models for negotiating tax treaties amongst both developed and developing countries. By considering the provisions of the OECD Model in this dissertation, it has allowed for a useful and meaningful analysis of any variations from the UN Model.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-123). / This dissertation provides a clear exposition of difficult legal tracts of the Income Tax Act, OP26 prospecting leases, OP26 mining leases and OP26 prospecting sub-lease agreements and the Tenth Schedule of the Income Tax Act.

Services cannot be subject to border controls in the same way as goods, which makes the charging and collection of VAT in these instances more complex. In many jurisdictions, VAT is collected on the cross-border supply of services via the reverse charge mechanism. This mechanism transfers the liability for the payment of VAT to the local recipient of the service (ie the customer), which creates a situation where foreign suppliers are not required to register in these jurisdictions and accordingly decreases the cost of compliance - a key contributor to the principle of VAT neutrality. In most cases, where the local recipient is liable for the payment of reverse charge VAT in respect of an imported service, a corresponding input tax credit is available where the service is on-supplied, resulting in a VAT neutral position for the local recipient. The problem arises where the reverse charge mechanism is applied inconsistently from country to country - where in some instances the VAT accounted for on imported services cannot be claimed as a credit due on the supply. In such instances, the reverse charge VAT represents an actual cost to the recipient of the service, which will then invariably be on-charged to the final consumer. In such cases, VAT will be levied on VAT and the final consumer will be subject to double VAT taxation. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the International VAT/GST Guidelines in April 2014 which has the "aim of reducing the uncertainty and risks of double taxation and unintended non-taxation that result from inconsistencies in the application of VAT in a cross-border context." These guidelines are not aimed at providing detailed prescriptions for national legislation but rather seek to identify objectives and suggest means for achieving them. These Guidelines are an important step in initiating a more harmonised approach to VAT. While not binding, they represent the key principles of a successful VAT structure that should be inherent in all VAT legislation. This paper is an analysis of the feasibility of implementing a harmonised approach to VAT in Africa, with particular regard to the application of the reverse charge mechanism, and the different means by which the incidence of double VAT taxation that results, can be prevented. This position is compared to that of the European Community (EC) in order to highlight the need for consistency in the application of VAT legislation of different African jurisdictions. The varying application of the reverse charge mechanism in African countries is one such example of how uncoordinated unilateral measures can result, and have the potential, not only to increase the cost of compliance and doing business in Africa, but also to create barriers and discourage, particularly, cross-border trade in services. By initiating a more harmonised approached to VAT legislation across Africa, the inconsistencies in the application of similar principles can be avoided, facilitating trade and easing the compliance burden on vendors.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-119). / This thesis tests the sufficiency of the definition of permanent establishments (PE), as contained in the Double Tax Agreements (DTAs) of selected "fishing rich" African countries, in protecting their taxing rights over profits made by non-residents from fishing in the waters of their states. The concept and meaning of "fixed place of residence" and "any other place of extraction” of natural resources is analysed in the context of establishing a PE in the Source State, taking various rules of interpretation, commentaries, judicial and academic views into account. It is concluded that although there are strong arguments in support of the view that a fishing vessel can be considered a fixed place of business, a prudent approach should be adopted. A fishing vessel is not a PE, unless specifically included in the specific DTA of Contracting States.

Includes bibliographical references / Special Economic Zones ("SEZs") have proved an effective tool to encourage and incentivise foreign direct investment in developing countries over the past 50 years. South Africa has been a relatively late adopter of an SEZ regime and only formally incorporated SEZs via the Industrial Development Zone ("IDZ") programme in late 2000. The ID programme has been largely unsuccessful with limited and slow investment. This has resulted in an overhaul of the programme resulting in the launch of the SEZ programme in2012 which included the promulgation of the Special Economic Zones Act and a suite of new tax incentives which were announced in the 2013 Taxation Laws Amendment Act. This study was performed in order to analyse the fiscal incentives available to South African SEZs against the backdrop of successes and failures experienced by other developing nations with more mature SEZ regimes. By firstly reviewing the history of SEZs internationally, context was provided which indicated the need for a successful SEZ programme in South Africa. As globalisation has developed in the modern era, so too has competition for foreign direct investment amongst developing nations. It is thus of paramount importance for South Africa, as late adopters, to ensure that their SEZ programme is designed appropriately. A detailed analysis of each tax incentive was performed which illustrated where opportunities can be found by foreign investors and additionally highlighted some disincentives in the South African regime. A review of the main incentives offered by the more developed and successful developing nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) identified certain opportunities where South Africa could learn from the successes and failures of these countries. Further, some specific case studies were analysed in order to glean risks to the sustainability of South Africa's SEZ programme. From these reviews and comparisons it was found that whilst it may not be possible to predict whether or not South Africa's SEZ programme will be successful, there are some areas where it is suggested that the current fiscal incentives can be enhanced to encourage quicker investment by foreign companies and the creation of investment which has a sustainable benefit to the local economy.