The Master’s Office is modernising its services with the launch of the Trust Online Registration System, aimed at improving efficiency and reducing corruption in ...
This article explores the recent changes to the FIC Act and the implications for Trust and Company Service Providers in South Africa, highlighting compliance requirements ...
Trustees must ensure accurate and honest submission of trust tax returns by 20 January 2025, as Sars intensifies scrutiny on compliance and beneficial ownership. ...
Trustees are urged to comply with new beneficial ownership register requirements by 18 December 2024 to avoid penalties.
Discover the critical steps South African trustees must take to ensure compliance with updated trust regulations and avoid penalties in 2025.
Will the blame game between trustees, accountants, and service providers start soon? asks the writer.
It is clear that the greylisting did, in fact, negatively affect the South African economy; the markets have just reacted earlier in anticipation of our greylisting. ...
As South Africa races against the clock to exit the greylist, trustees must comply with new beneficial ownership regulations by November 15, 2024.
Sars plans to introduce punitive penalties for non-submission of trust tax returns by December 2024.
Many believe that the recent greylisting measures introduced compliance requirements for trusts for the first time.
Many believe that the recent greylisting measures introduced compliance requirements for trusts.
In many instances trustees abdicate their responsibilities to their accountants or tax practitioners, leaving them to manage the trust’s tax affairs.
Sars plans to use this information to pre-populate the beneficiaries’ tax returns with this information or re-open the already submitted/auto-assessed returns.
When a trust is registered, typically the patriarch or matriarch estate planner plays a role in the trust – that of the founder and/or trustee.
Many trustees are advised to distribute all trust income and capital gains to beneficiaries to escape the high tax rates in trusts.
Many trustees do not understand the unique nature of a trust and the outcomes of relevant court cases.
Although no insurance products exist for family trustees, professional/independent trustees may access insurance for trust services they provide.
All trustees are the guardians of the trust assets and have a duty to manage these assets in the best interests of the beneficiaries.
Setting up a trust and selecting beneficiaries requires a good understanding of trusts. Picture:
It is advised that trustees should be much more closely involved in the accounting and tax for the trust on an ongoing basis.
Only 30% of trusts are registered as taxpayers with Sars, trust tax returns are 7 years behind and only a fraction submit on time.
Trustee services cannot be provided for free.
2023 has been a roller-coaster year, with a tremendous amount of changes introduced.
Although many are of the view that South Africa introduced more stringent measures for trusts and companies in the past year, out of free will, the opposite is true. ...
Trustees are to keep a record of all the prescribed information under the TPCA, the regulations and Sars’s requirements.