Tributum Newsletter #42

Hello

We are in the middle of tax filing season for individuals in South Africa and seeing that Tributum is a tax consulting firm allow me to touch on tax for some part of the newsletter. Firstly, I hope that if you expected a refund that you have already filed your return and received the money.

Secondly SARS has issued welcome letters from its specialist High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) division to a number of HNWI from SA. The letters were couched in a positive manner suggesting that HNWI’s and SARS will form a partnership based on trust, transparency and voluntary compliance. Seeing that SARS identified non-compliance by HNWI as a high risk in their strategic plans I wonder whether the message will lead to dialogue or a one-way enforcement train.

Various Government institutions have also indicated the use of lifestyle audits going forward to identify unexplained wealth compared to known income. SARS is listed as one of these institutions and I bet they will start with these HNWI. SARS must just be careful not to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs as these few individuals contribute a massive amount of revenue to the fiscus already.

In the linked YouTube clip ((3) Kara Lawson – It Doesn’t Get Easier, Handle Hard Stuff Better – YouTube) Kara Lawson makes the statement that life does not get easier, we just handle “hard” better. And that is so true, it’s part of growing up and accepting responsibility. Nothing grows without some stress or pain. Growth requires sacrifice and hard work. And nothing worth having or loving will be easy. We just handle the hard better. Sometimes we fail, but we get up and try again. What “hard” is differs from person to person, but know this, you will get better at handling it if you don’t sit back and wait for life to get easier.

That reminds me of the quote that suggests “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life”. Its easy to watch the next episode on Netflix, its difficult to get up the next morning. Its easy to hit the snooze button, it’s difficult to get to gym. Its easy to reach for that next glass, it’s difficult to function properly the next day. It’s easy to skip a day, it’s difficult to tend your garden consistently. But making the hard choice normally means that you make the good choice. And better choices should make dealing with “hard” easier.

It’s easy not to pay the taxman, its hard dealing with the fallout. And if you’re wondering when you will get your HNWI letter from SARS, don’t hold your breath unless your gross assets exceed R50m. Until next month, keep breathing!