Browsing by Subject "Tax"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    An enquiry into the factors affecting the development of the South African tax structure (1946/47-1985/86)
    (1987) Wainer, Graham D; Rees, David J
    The objective of this thesis is the provision of explanations for the changes in the South African tax structure between 1946 and 1985. The method of enquiry comprises an evaluation of three theoretical perspectives evident in the literature, referred to throughout as the economic development, public choice and marxist approaches. The central conclusion to emerge from this study is that whilst each of these perspectives individually provides valuable insights, by far the most structured explanation relies on an eclectic exposition which incorporates the relevant contributions of all three approaches.
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    International tax planning and anti-tax avoidance provisions - Hila Zetler.
    (2013) Zetler, Hila; Emslie, Trevor
    'The avoidance of tax may be lawful, but it is not yet a virtue' – Lord Denning¹. The famous English judge, Lord Denning, explained that the avoidance of tax may be legal, but it is not necessarily ethical. By said words, Justice Denning implied that, when a taxpayer avoids paying taxes through legal tax planning, he may, despite the ostensible legality thereof, nevertheless harm society. Assuming that such action does, indeed, involve an immoral act, should the legislature intervene?
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    Media Coverage and the Cross Section of Stock Returns A Probe into the JSE
    (2019) Modise, Kagiso Eagile; West, Darron
    Through reaching a wide-ranging population of investors, both institutional and individual, mass media coverage of stocks markets can alleviate financial information frictions and consequently affect the valuation of securities even when it does not present genuine news. The empirical objective of this research is to investigate this hypothesis by studying media reporting and changes in average stock returns. By constructing two portfolios of stocks divided into “stocks without media coverage” and “stocks with media coverage” an investigation can be carried to find out which portfolio outperforms the other and sometimes even after accounting for risk factors. Previous literature news media and the stock market has failed to address African financial markets including the Johannesburg stock exchange (JSE) market. The Johannesburg stock exchange is Africa’s oldest and largest stock market. An opportunity exists to replicate empirical work on news media reporting and changes in average returns in South Africa and Johannesburg stock exchange. The methodology employed in this study is adopted from the widespread research previously conducted in other more developed markets. Media coverage has been derived from the number of headline articles about a stock in a certain month in 23 influential South African print newspapers. Only headline articles are used to proxy for a stocks overall media attention. A systematic search of the LexisNexis database is carried out to find articles published in 23 major, influential newspapers in South Africa. The examination period is from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017 (a total of 7620 firm-month observations). The results indicate no statistically significant (at the 95% confidence level) outperformance of stocks without any news media reporting over stocks with news media reporting as found in more developed markets. Further analysis of data indicates that media reporting of the JSE stocks is surprisingly low and 99% of observations having only 6 headlines or less in the media. Therefore, about 1% of the observations are reported at least 7 times in the South African newspaper media.
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    Sectoral dynamics of financial co-integration between BRICS and developed stock markets
    (2019) Lima, Roland Nubiga; Toerien, Francois
    This study examines the sectoral dynamics of co-integration between the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India China and South Africa) and developed stock markets, represented by Germany, Japan, the UK and the US, during the four phases of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the three phases of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis (ESDC) and the UK Brexit crisis. The sample includes daily sectoral equity indices over the period January 2006 to December 2017. The study applies the ADCC GJRGARCH model to estimate the time-varying correlations across the nine countries within each sector and across sectors within each country, and assesses the conditional correlation dynamics during each of the phases of the three crisis periods. The results support the existence of financial co-integration across sectors and among all the nine countries during the GFC and ESDC. Only developed countries exhibit co-integration during the UK Brexit crisis. While some sectors were less affected during some of the crisis periods, on average, financials were the most affected during the GFC, ESDC and UK Brexit crisis. Further analysis on a crisis phase level reveals that most country pairs and sector pairs exhibit significant increases in conditional correlations in phase two of the GFC and ESDC, limiting the effectiveness of international diversification during this period. The results provide useful insights for policy makers and investors.
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    Should SA Pursue The Two-Pillar Solution In Terms Of Missing Digital Revenues In Lieu Of The Digital Services Tax?
    (2023) May, Steven; West, Craig
    The 1920s compromise to tax source revenues appears obsolete in the 21st century.1 The digitalization of modern economies has resulted in outdated tax laws. Brick-and-mortar type principles are still applied to determine revenue sources, whereas, in the digital age, many businesses have no physical presence that would otherwise allow states to tax profits of large multinational enterprises (MNEs) deemed to operate within their borders. While the world sought a consensus-based approach to deal with the issues, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) introduced an interim solution – a Digital Services Tax (DST). The DST drew criticism from certain countries, as it is believed to target multinational companies unfairly. The OECD finally achieved worldwide consensus with the signing of the Two-Pillar Solution in 2021, which is to become effective in 2023; however, the signatories of the Two-Pillar Solution also committed themselves to abolish DSTs and refrain from developing any similar types of taxes. While most countries have agreed to the Two-Pillar Solution, some countries have not, including African Tax Administration Act (ATAF) member Kenya. Kenya indicated that its DST provides certainty and assures tax revenues whereas the Two-Pillar Solution's outcome remains uncertain, and the tax revenues are unclear. In addition, ATAF raised concern that the 15% global minimum tax rate proposed is too low for developing African countries and suggests such a threshold will continue to allow MNEs to avoid paying tax in African states. This dissertation will evaluate whether or not DST is a better option for SA rather than the Two-Pillar Solution. If not, are there other ways SA could recover missing digital tax revenues? Like Kenya, SA also has to consider the global minimum tax rate.
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    "The assessed loss as the driving force behind schemes of arrangement and compromises under s 311 of the Companies Act 61, 1973, as amended"
    (1999) Maloka, Tumo Charles
    The desire of virtually all taxpayers today is to find some means of minimizing their taxes. The search for tax shelters by taxpayers is relentless. Tax considerations are hallmarks of scheme of arrangements and compromise carried out in terms of s3 11 of the Companies Act. The scheme of arrangements gained popularity during the sanctions era as a tax saving device. Broadly speaking, s311 schemes have been employed as a relatively inexpensive method of acquiring financially distressed company being wound up with one of the most alluring commodities from tax point of view - a large balance of assessed loss to generate tax-sheltered income. The retention of assessed loss is paramount concern of proposers of s 311 scheme of arrangements and compromise with creditors. It is, therefore, a matter of considerable import that an insolvent company's assessed loss remain largely intact. And when it comes to structuring an arrangement or compromise, the choice of scheme is even more crucial especially if the objective is the set-off of assessed loss against current income. The assessed loss has been described as the leit motif behind the beneficial use of statutory corporate re-organization facilitated by s 3 11 of the Companies Act. To the extent that schemes of arrangements and compromise are used to obtain substantial tax savings, the taxpayers make very considerable inroads into the fiscus. As soon as one starts to engage in s3 l l schemes of arrangements and compromise, one is liable to draw bit of attention to trafficking in assessed losses of companies and to provoke the Commissioner of Inland Revenue into a counter-attack. The opportunity to get assessed loss set-off against income is governed by two complimentary provisions, namely, sections 20 and 103(2). Section 20(1) results in a forfeiture or sterilization of assessed where there was mercantile abstinence on the part of the company. While section 20(1)(a)(ii) provides that the balance of assessed loss shall be reduced by the amount or value of any benefit received by or accruing to a person resulting from a concession granted by or compromise made with his creditors whereby his liabilities to them have been extinguished, provided that such liabilities arose in the course of trade. Further disqualification is provided by s103(2) which is specifically aimed at restricting trafficking in assessed losses of companies. The tax efficacy of s311 schemes can be easily overshadowed by adverse tax treatment under aforementioned provisions.
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    The Determinants of Non-Performing Loans: Evidence from African Banking Systems
    (2022) Paul, Michael; Toerien, Francois
    Historically, the evolution of NPLs across different regions has been relatively heterogenous, in part due to unique structural differences that comprise different banking sectors and the varying impact that certain macroeconomic conditions have on different countries' banking systems. This study empirically investigates the leading determinants of credit risk in the African context by employing the ARDL approach to cointegration on eight African countries: Egypt and Morocco (North African countries), Botswana and South Africa (Southern African countries), Kenya and Mauritius (East African countries), and Ghana and Nigeria (West African countries). Due to data availability and reliability concerns quarterly data is used in Egypt (Q1 2009 – Q4 2020), Morocco (Q1 2005 – Q4 2020), Botswana (Q1 2007 – Q4 2020), Kenya (Q1 2009 – Q4 2020), Mauritius (Q1 2009 – Q4 2020), Ghana (Q1 2008 – Q4 2020), and Nigeria (Q1 2010 – Q4 2020). Monthly data is used in South Africa (December 2012 – December 2020). The study aims to examine how certain macroeconomic and banking industry specific factors uniquely impact the accumulation of NPLs across different African regions. In addition, an external variable accounting for the implementation of IFRS 9 is introduced as a dummy variable. The findings indicate that macroeconomic factors are critical determinants of NPLs in the case of North African countries in both the long-run and short-run. As for the Southern African countries, NPL fluctuations are highly sensitive to banking industry-specific factors rather than macroeconomic factors. This indicates that NPLs in the Southern African banking systems are less vulnerable to adverse macro-financial shocks but rather more exposed to problems originating from the banking sector itself. In the case of the East and West African banking systems, NPLs are driven by banking industry-specific factors in the short-run but not in the long-run. Lastly, the findings indicate that the implementation of IFRS 9 has a decreasing effect on NPLs in both the short run and long run in the case of Egypt, South Africa, and Mauritius. As for Kenya, IFRS 9 seems only a critical determinant of NPLs in the long-run but not the short-run. Drawing on these results, this study recommends the promotion of a positive environment for economic growth in the case of North African countries, and the strengthening of banks' balance sheets in the case of the South, East, and West African countries.