This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
BL Premium reports that tax professionals are united in their opposition to a National Treasury proposal to restrict access by emigrants to lump sum benefits from their retirement savings.
In terms of the proposal in the draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, emigrants will only be able to make a withdrawal when a retirement fund member has ceased to be an SA tax resident and has remained so for a consecutive period of at least three years. The proposed amendment would be from 1 March 2021. According to the Treasury, the amendment was necessary because of the modernisation of the foreign exchange control system, which will phase out the concept of emigration for exchange control purposes. Presently, lump sum retirement benefits can be paid to emigrants when the Reserve Bank has recognised the emigration for exchange control purposes. Tax professionals objected to the proposal during public hearings by parliament’s finance committee on Wednesday on several draft tax bills. MPs were told that “while the three-year test has some logic to it”, often those funds were required to help people establish themselves in the other country. “Also, the funds, when considering the impact of exchange rates, will likely significantly devalue over the three years.” The Treasury will give a response to the submissions next week.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page