Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)
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Item Good corporate governance in state-owned entities: challenges and compliance(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mokuena, Medi Moira; Kawadza, HerbetThis research explores the state of good corporate governance in state-owned entities. It does so by locating good corporate governance in the state-owned entities’ operating environment. This research raises the failure of the executive managers, the non-executive directors, and the executive authorities to appreciate this powerful tool as a key to the success of the state-owned entities. The state-owned entities are significant participants in South Africa's economy. The number of state-owned entities, the size of some, and their role in the country's economy make good corporate governance imperative. The nonchalant approach of the state-owned entities management to this phenomenon is concerning because its effect on the economy and the delivery of services to the people has far-reaching negative consequences. In most instances, unethical executive managers and non-executive directors consider it inconvenient and a nuisance. The competitiveness of the economy, success and sustainability of the state-owned entities is unachievable without good corporate governance. The accounting authorities must know and understand the purpose of state-owned entities and the relevance of good corporate governance. They must own it, embrace it and oversee its effectuation throughout the organisation without fail. Once adopted, good corporate governance binds the accounting authorities, the executive managers, and all the employees in the state-owned entities, including the executive officers. There are laws and other guidelines in place to modulate good corporate governance. The overarching law is the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. These could be better. However, if properly implemented and not manipulated for nefarious reasons to the detriment of the state-owned entities, the government will realise its goals, and the public will benefit. Bad corporate governance opens the door for corruption, bribery, fraud, financial mismanagement, and money laundering. This problem is common in Southern Africa. For instance, Botswana and Namibia also have good corporate governance challenges in their state-owned entities. Their good corporate governance is premised on the King Codes and international instruments. Hence, good corporate governance must be applied in the management of state-owned entities. The quality of management and execution in state-owned entities determine their failure or success. With the help of the private sector enablers, theirprospect of success is limitedItem Weaknesses in the legislation for tax avoidance and tax evasion in South Africa and suggested improvements(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Naidoo, Katelynne Ann‘Tax avoidance and tax evasion threaten government revenues’ (OECD n.d.). As the globalization of domestic and international trade continually increases, tax evasion remains a hurdle for governments around the globe (OECD 2017a:9). Governments rely on tax collections primarily to finance economic expenditure; however, governments face a huge loss of revenue through tax evasion at different levels (OECD 2014:91). It is submitted that stringent tax collections are imperative for South Africa as a developing country. An examination of the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion will be performed given that the difference is often perceived to be faint (Davidov 2016:1). The main aim of the study is to examine the weaknesses in the legislation for tax avoidance and tax evasion in SA and suggest improvements. An analysis of the role of the government, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and other countries towards adopting a holistic approach to designing policies to prevent tax avoidance and tax evasion will be performed. Tax avoidance, harmful practices and aggressive tax planning must be tackled (African Tax Administration, African Union and OECD 2021:18).Item An analysis of the income tax provisions applied to the tax exemption for Foreign Employment Income(2021) Gumede, WendyThe taxation of foreign employment income has been a major issue in South Africa and the amendment toS10(1)(o)(ii) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (‘the Act’) has presented more complications. S 10(1)(o)(ii) stated that all income received in respect of services performed outside of South Africa was free from taxation in South Africa if the employee performing such services was based outside of South Africa prior to 01 March 2020:“...(aa) for a period or periods exceeding 183 full days in aggregate during any period of 12 months; and (bb) for a continuous period exceeding 60 full days during that period of 12 months, and those services were rendered during that period or periods...”1 (Income tax Act 58 of 1962) In the 2017 budget speech the finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, highlighted that in 2016 there had been a R30 billion shortfall in taxes collected. This was primarily due to Personal Income Tax, Value Added Tax(VAT) and Customs Duties. Amongst other proposals to reduce the shortfall, he proposed that the S10(1)(o)(ii) exemption of the Act be repealed as the exemption on foreign employment income appeared to be “excessively generous”. That meant that foreign employment income would be fully taxed, with the only relief available being a tax credit for foreign taxes paid. Several members of the sector and the general public wrote to the finance minister requesting that the draft change be reconsidered. The National Treasury responded and took into consideration some of the comments submitted by the public. One of the National Treasury’s response was to extend the date that the amendment to S10(1)(o)(ii) was set to come into effect to 01 March 2020.Another response was to increase the value of the amount to be exempted to R1.25 million instead of R 1 million for the year of assessment ending February 2021( National Treasury 2017a). The purpose of this report is to discuss how the amendments of S 10(1)(o)(ii) of the Act came about, how it will impact South African expatriates and possibly have them consider ceasing residency in South Africa, the benefits and process of ceasing residency. It is also to examine the legislative, administrative and judicial approaches of the taxation of foreign employment income. This report includes a comparative calculation of a South African tax resident working in another country compared to when that individual has ceased residency and lives in a country that South African expatriates are known to likely emigrate to as they either already work there or a country that has a strong economic structure