By Zane De Decker, MD Flyt Property Investment. Did you know that an investment made into a Section 12J registered fund qualifies for a 100% tax refund? What that means, in simple terms, is that 100% of what you invest is deducted from your taxable...
By Ruan van Jaarsveld, Manager at Hobbs Sinclair Advisory. Many South Africans have recently found themselves feeling the need to venture into business outside of the formal, corporate framework. Reasons for this vary, from being retrenched from a...
A reader asked: “I am 38 years old and I am not happy with the returns on my Retirement Annuity (RA). I am considering scaling down my monthly contributions and rather investing the money offshore myself through a stockbroker. What are the tax...
Any changes relating to early access to funds in a private-sector pension fund or RA will have no bearing on members of the GEPF. I have received many queries from readers about the proposal to allow members of retirement funds limited access to...
With the planned re-opening of schools some time over the course of January, parents are bracing themselves for the annual grudge purchase of back-to-school essentials. These including stationery, textbooks, sports kit and other required equipment....
Advance payments on car finance do not work the same as on your home loan, so it’s worth understanding how to make the most of it. Any debt that you pay off sooner than required will save you money on interest. However, you need to understand how...
The law makes no distinction between voluntary retrenchment and forced retrenchment. This means that the same benefits apply whether you accepted the package voluntarily or were forced to take it. These benefits include a tax exemption of up to...
Globally there has been an increase in the number of retail investors wanting to purchase crypto-assets. Unfortunately this has seen an exponential increase in the number “crypto-scams”. This is where unregulated entities and individuals promise...
If you were unpleasantly surprised by the tax bill on your 13th cheque, change the way you structure your salary package so you lessen the tax impact. According to Jetro Malapane, member of the Executive Committee of the South African Payroll...
It’s that time of year when we all make our New Year’s resolutions. The secret to a successful resolution is to keep it simple and to break it down to something manageable. For example, don’t’ say “I am going to be debt free.” Rather select one...
South African small business owners are a resilient bunch: 86% of those recently surveyed by Retail Capital said that their business will survive the pandemic. This despite the majority not receiving relief from their landlords or financial institutions during...
By Izak Odendaal and Dave Mohr, Old Mutual Wealth Investment Strategists. Hindsight, they say, is 20/20 vision. This being the year 2020, it turned out to be truer than ever before. For investors, and all of us really, there was so much about this year that was...
Most companies pay December salaries early, so there is a good chance many of you have already been paid by December 15 While it is a great feeling to receive money early, especially with the financial demands of the festive season, keep in mind that this money has to...
If you do just one thing this festive season, plan for those 40 days to the next paycheque. Right now, the best thing you can do for your financial health is to plan for December and January. In most cases when people write to us with financial difficulties it is...
Most of us are going to feel cash strapped this festive season due to the financial strain of the COVID-19 lockdown. But we also need to have something to celebrate and to look forward to. We can do this if we put a plan in place. Set a budget Decide upfront how much...
As a financial journalist I am increasingly concerned about misinformation provided to members of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF) by unscrupulous financial advisers. A recent example is a reader who was told by an adviser that on retiring after 20 years...
In this podcast, Maya (@mayaonmoney) speaks to labour lawyer Michael Bagraims about your rights when it comes to voluntary retrenchment – the benefits you receive, and what rights you give up. If you are being offered voluntary retrenchment, listen to this first.
Absa recently announced that an employee had “unlawfully made selected customer data available to a small number of external parties.” According to Absa, the data leak relates to a small portion of Absa South Africa’s customer base, and while it included personal...
The current economic situation, with job losses, low interest rates and poor market performance, has created the perfect opportunity for scamsters to promote dodgy investment deals to try and lure unsuspecting victims. To tell us more about investment scams, I am...
The global shutdown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic is testing the clauses of insurance policies – specifically business interruption insurance – with claimants and insurers across the world fighting it out in court. The Western Cape High Court recently issued a...