This feed is published daily with selected new or updated
content from across the Lowtax Network. For a list of Lowtax Network
sites, many of which feature daily news, see
below.
Providing essential tax news and information
for globally mobile artists, contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals,
small businesses, sportspersons and entertainers.
Lowtax Portal:
'Low-tax' business and investment in the top 50 jurisdictions covered in
exceptional detail.
Tax News: Global
tax news, continuously updated through the day.
Investors Offshore:
The independent offshore and alternative investment guide for expatriates
and the globally aware investor.
Law & Tax
News: Daily news and background data on tax and legal developments
for international business.
Offshore-e-com:
A topical guide to offshore e-commerce focused on tax and regulation.
Lowtax Library:
One of the web's largest and most authoritative business and investment
information sources.
US Tax Network:
The resource for free online US taxation information, covering: corporate
tax, individual tax, international tax, expatriates, sales and e-commerce
tax, investment tax.
NEW! Personal
Business Tax Guide: Providing essential tax news and information
on business for contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals, small businesses,
artists, sportspersons and entertainers.
South African Tax Revenues Buck Global Trends,
by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) collected ZAR625.57bn (USD68.27bn)
by midnight on March 31, 2009, slightly below the government's revised target,
but 9.2% higher than the revenues collected in 2008 - a notable achievement
given the prevailing global economic climate.
The main contributors to total revenue were company income tax (ZAR165.23bn),
personal income tax (ZAR197.07bn) and VAT (ZAR153.81bn).
Import VAT and customs duty contributed to the shortfall as a result of falling
trade volumes especially during the last quarter of the fiscal year. A key factor
was a 10% decline in automotive goods and parts which make up 19% of monthly
imports.
"This result was achieved in a climate of rapidly deteriorating global
economic conditions and is therefore testimony to the relative robustness of
the SA economy to date. It also highlights the benefits to South Africa of our
sound fiscal and monetary policy choices we made over the last 15 years,"
said Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel in a statement. "Given the challenging
economic conditions, this year SARS again engaged intensively with taxpayers
to ensure they made payments on time."
During the year under review, SARS collected ZAR16.4bn in outstanding debt
of which ZAR4.2bn was collected during the last month. A total of ZAR14bn (about
8% of total company income tax) was collected from companies as additional provisional payments
in instances where companies had underpaid. Customs deferments collected amounted
to ZAR4.2bn.
In anticipation of the economic downturn, the revenue target was adjusted downwards
in February from ZAR642.27bn to ZAR627.69bn. The current conditions resulted
in a collection that was 99.66% of the target.
Personal income tax collection was ZAR1.93bn below the February 2009 estimate
due to job losses and lower bonuses.
VAT collection, despite being only marginally lower than the revised estimate,
ended about 8% lower than the original printed estimate as a result of a slowdown
in household consumption expenditure from 7% in 2007 to 2.3% in 2008.
Company income tax collection exceeded the February 2009 estimate of ZAR162bn
- despite a slow down in the economy - with positive growth in the financial
services, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, and mining sectors.
Customs duty collection fell below the February 2009 estimate of ZAR23.78bn
mainly due to a decline in imports. Automotive goods and parts which constituted
19% of the total monthly imports declined by 10% on a monthly basis.
One of the web's largest and
most authoritative business and investment information sources. Alongside
topical, daily news on worldwide
tax developments, you can receive weekly newswires or
access up-to-date intelligence
reports on a range of legal, tax and investment subjects.
Our 16 constantly updated
intelligence reports cover every important aspect of 'offshore' and international
tax-planning in depth, including banking secrecy, the EU's savings tax
directive, offshore funds, e-commerce, offshore gaming and transfer pricing.
Reports are available for immediate downloading or as subscription
services with news pages.
Advertising & Marketing
With over 50,000 qualified readers every month our web-sites
offer a number of cost effective, targeted advertising,
sponsorship and marketing opportunities:
Display advertising - from 'skyscrapers' to 'buttons'
Content/article submission and sponsorship
Opt-in email marketing
On-line Services Directory listings
Could your corporate web-site or newsletter benefit
from incorporating regularly updated news and content
tailored to serve your clients' interests? We can provide
a variety of maintenance-free news and content solutions
that can be seamlessly integrated and dynamically delivered:
Click here for a brief introduction
to RSS and instructions on how to get the Tax-News feed.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: THE LOWTAX NETWORK has
taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on
this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage
that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to
take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement
in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials
on this site copyright THE LOWTAX NETWORK 1999 to 2010. Contact
us for further information.
TAX-NEWS.COM
Free Tax-News Feed