You may have been working overseas for many years living an expat life, getting paid relatively low or no tax on your salary and now your contract or visa is about to expire and you are thinking about heading ‘home’. For many this is the obvious choice when they have spent 20 or 30 years working overseas…but is it the right choice? From a lifestyle perspective the answer may be yes but if tax is considered this may [READ MORE...]
January 16, 2013
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It is always interesting how advisors sometimes look further abroad for benefits for their clients operating in Africa, most commonly through Mauritius. If you are in the manufacturing industry though, you need not look any further than one of our close neighbours, namely Namibia.
Firstly, Namibia offers very attractive incentives through their Export Processing Zone Enterprises Incentives, commonly known as EPZ Enterprises. Enterprises which undertake manufacturing operations and export their production to countries other than countries in [READ MORE...]
January 16, 2013
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The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been simmering away for some time now with many hoping that it would run out of steam, or rather support, before its intended implementation on 1 January 2013. Unfortunately, its repeal looks incredibly unlikely and, with less than a month to go, millions of organisations around the world are busy implementing new rules and procedures intended to help the US track down US persons** who are not declaring taxes. [READ MORE...]
January 16, 2013
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2012 is rapidly becoming a year of HMRC consultations. Most of these consultations are specific in their focus with the objective of curbing or discouraging the use of (a) aggressive tax strategies which have mushroomed in recent years or (b) to discourage the use of offshore structures. In this article I have focused on HMRC’s attack on residential property owned offshore: ‘Ensuring the fair taxation on residential property transactions’.
This consultation was published in May 2012 and proposes to introduce a [READ MORE...]
August 20, 2012
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As German and European Patent and Trademark Attorney, I am sometimes puzzled about the fact that a large number of especially small and mid-sized companies or service providers totally neglect the very efficient system of trademark protection, while obviously knowing about the huge value a well-established trademark may gain.
I may therefore briefly summarize the existing system of trademark protection: Generally speaking, a registered trademark offers an easy and efficient way for protecting the own trademark against competitors.
A trademark application includes [READ MORE...]
August 20, 2012
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Turnstone Group, the Global Fiduciary Service Provider operating in international financial service centers, has confirmed the sale of its Fiduciary and Fund Administration business to the management team in Mauritius.
Mr Roelf Odendaal, Chief Executive Officer, stated at the recent advisory board meeting of the Group, that: ‘Turnstone, as a Family Office Service Provider, wishes to continue focusing on its core business activities, namely the support for individuals and family’s needs for private and business structures.’ Mr Odendaal was referring to [READ MORE...]
August 20, 2012
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The new UK residence rules have taken a long time to be formulated and whilst we are not quite there, HMRC are of the view the draft legislation published recently is a final draft. HMRC still propose to consult on minor matters but it is reasonable to assume what we have is final. HMRC have hailed the new rules to be ‘uncomplicated’ and that ‘taxpayers will be able to determine their residence status with clarity’. So is this the case [READ MORE...]
August 20, 2012
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In this article, we only provide some budget changes and proposals; the full transcript of the budget speech can be viewed at: http://www.info.gov.za
The information provided in this article, is based on proposals made in the national budget speech delivered on 22 February 2012 - until the proposals have formally been promulgated in legislation, it will only remain proposals.
Tax tables
A taxpayer younger than 65 and earning a taxable income of R63 556 or less per annum, or a taxpayer older than [READ MORE...]
May 3, 2012
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For some time, the demand for foundations to be established in the Isle of Man has forced practitioners to either adapt trusts or limited guarantee companies, and while that may have been effective, inevitably it has given the appearance of a ‘make do’ solution.
Therefore we are delighted to announce that the Foundation Law is now in force in the Isle of Man. Turnstone believes that it will add tremendous value to the already existing portfolio of vehicles that is on [READ MORE...]
May 3, 2012
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Trusts, in South Africa, are widely used for structuring the estates of individuals and providing perpetual succession. It remains a favourite, but can be a minefield if not managed properly. The most basic principle to create a valid trust in South Africa, the trust deed must clearly establish a separation between the right to control the trust assets, which is held by the trustees, and the right (whether vested or contingent) to benefit from the trust assets, which [READ MORE...]
May 3, 2012
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