Trustees: The New Tax Return Form - Take Advice Now!
Trustees be aware – the form is twenty two pages long and will need planning and preparation.
Why a new form?
The SARS five year compliance programme (2012-2017) focused on high risk areas to SARS – one of which was high net-worth individuals and the use of trusts to shield assets from tax liability.
Thus, SARS is looking to gain new tax revenues from trusts and with twenty two pages of disclosure you need to be on your guard when completing the return.
The main features
To make matters worse SARS intend issuing a replacement for this new return, possibly at short notice during October 2015. Note that any data captured and saved but not yet submitted to SARS on the current return will be lost on implementation of the new return.
The bottom line is that there has probably been no better time to seek advice from your accountant.
The SARS five year compliance programme (2012-2017) focused on high risk areas to SARS – one of which was high net-worth individuals and the use of trusts to shield assets from tax liability.
Thus, SARS is looking to gain new tax revenues from trusts and with twenty two pages of disclosure you need to be on your guard when completing the return.
The main features
- Expanded financial and legal reporting requirements
- Details of the trust’s offshore and local assets and liabilities
- Comprehensive information on types of income (rental, farming partnerships etc)
- Foreign and local capital gains and distribution of such gains to beneficiaries
- Details of the trust’s offshore and local assets and liabilities
- Full details of all parties contributing funds, assets, loans etc. into the trust will need to be provided as well as details of the actual transactions made
- Full details of any party benefitting in any way from the trust as well as details of the benefits received or enjoyed will need to be provided for every beneficiary
- If there are 50 or less people to whom these transactions applied, then list every transaction in the IT12T return
- If there are more than 50 people then provide detail of every transaction in excess of R500,000
- If there are 50 or less people to whom these transactions applied, then list every transaction in the IT12T return
- What type of rights the beneficiaries enjoy (vested or discretionary rights).
To make matters worse SARS intend issuing a replacement for this new return, possibly at short notice during October 2015. Note that any data captured and saved but not yet submitted to SARS on the current return will be lost on implementation of the new return.
The bottom line is that there has probably been no better time to seek advice from your accountant.
Provided by BVK Chartered Accountants
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