By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) We hope that you are keeping safe and well. As the move to lockdown level 2 brings further easing of restrictions, we are acutely aware of the challenges that are encountered at each level of society. There is still a long road ahead, but we are hugely encouraged by the resilience we haveContinue reading “COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee relief Scheme (TERS) – A Limited Extension”
Category Archives: Relief Measures
COVID-19: Sundry Tax Developments
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) This communication will outline recent developments in the Covid-19 tax relief measures and will provide a further update on the South African Revenue Service (SARS) auto assessment system, while noting a caution regarding the abuse of electronic communication by scammers. Recent Developments On 31 July 2020 National Treasury announced an extensionContinue reading “COVID-19: Sundry Tax Developments”
COVID-19: Update of Guaranteed Loan Scheme
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) In April 2020 a Guaranteed Loan Scheme was announced, representing a partnership between major banks, National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank. The scheme was intended to address economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly to provide liquidity to businesses that are in distress. Concerns have been expressed over accessibility to theContinue reading “COVID-19: Update of Guaranteed Loan Scheme”
COVID-19: Tax Relief – Beware of Cash Flow
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) For many small to medium sized businesses, the primary Covid-19 tax relief will be in the form of a deferral of Employees’ Tax and Provisional Tax liabilities. In many ways this relief represents an interest free source of cash flow from SARS to assist in meeting liquidity requirements. However, there is a potentialContinue reading “COVID-19: Tax Relief – Beware of Cash Flow“
COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) – May 2020 Update
By Peter Cottrell Chartered Accountant (SA) The application process for May 2020 TERS benefits opened on Thursday 28 May 2020. Since April there have been changes to the regulations and to the application process. The overpayment issue identified in the April 2020 calculations has also been addressed. Illustrating the importance of the TERS relief measure, the UIF is stated to haveContinue reading “COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) – May 2020 Update”
COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) – Further Feedback on Benefit Calculations and Implementation Issues
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) Since our update on 24 April, much progress has been made with the TERS benefit UIF calculations and by now most employers will have received a second round of payments from UIF. The purpose of this communication is to provide an update on the current status benefit calculations and implementation issues. Benefit CalculationsContinue reading “COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) – Further Feedback on Benefit Calculations and Implementation Issues”
COVID-19: Guaranteed Loan Scheme for SMEs
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) The major challenge facing most businesses is the need for liquidity, both during the lock-down period and for the subsequent reboot of the economy. On 21 April 2020, President Ramaphosa outlined further economic and social measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. One measure that will be of significant interest to many SmallContinue reading “COVID-19: Guaranteed Loan Scheme for SMEs”
COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) – Preliminary Feedback on Benefit Calculations
Most employers are still waiting for feedback on their TERS applications and accordingly information received to date is fairly limited. The limited feedback to date is that in some instances the TERS benefits received have been far less than what was expected. The purpose of this communication is to provide information based on the benefit calculations thatContinue reading “COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) – Preliminary Feedback on Benefit Calculations”
COVID-19: Further Tax Measures 21 April 2020
While welcoming the clear guidance given by President Ramaphosa on the gradual lifting of South Africa’s lockdown restrictions, it is clear that there is still a long journey ahead and that the economic hardship will be with us for some time. This brings a sharp focus back onto the available relief measures. Clive Stewart has preparedContinue reading “COVID-19: Further Tax Measures 21 April 2020”
COVID-19: Property Leases and Rental Relief
We are encountering many situations where tenants are requesting some form of rental relief for the lock-down period and sometimes beyond. In practice, this is a complex area with legal, commercial and moral implications. From the tenant perspective, there can be genuine financial hardship due to closure of businesses during the lock-down. While landlords will have an overridingContinue reading “COVID-19: Property Leases and Rental Relief”
COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit Online Application Process
By Peter Cottrell After our comprehensive update on Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) yesterday, we now share some practical information on the online application process that has been opened. There are still some questions around which UIF option is best. In most circumstances, the TERS benefit will be the most effective method of getting benefits into employees’Continue reading “COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit Online Application Process”
COVID-19: Amendments to the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) There have been significant changes to the Temporary Employer / Employee Relief Scheme Benefit over the last few days. Firstly, there have been significant changes to the regulations that have widened the scope of the scheme. There are three significant areas of change: Employees who are receiving reduced remuneration are now eligibleContinue reading “COVID-19: Amendments to the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit”
COVID-19: Relief for the Poor and Vulnerable
Our President has made another great call for solidarity and action by our country and we face a further two weeks of imposed lock-down. There are three prongs to the government’s response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: An intensified public health response to slow down and reduce infections; A comprehensive package of economic support measures toContinue reading “COVID-19: Relief for the Poor and Vulnerable”
COVID-19: Lock Down Regulations and Social Services
By Warrick de Wet (attorney) Regulations Two sets of lockdown regulations have been published so far in terms of the Disaster Management Act 2002. One was issued on 25 March 2020 and the other on the 26 March 2020. The regulations have their problems, probably due to the fact that the situation is novel andContinue reading “COVID-19: Lock Down Regulations and Social Services”
COVID-19: Relief Measures Overview
Back by popular demand! After a raft of emails dealing with various relief measures and some personal reflections, we have taken a much needed moment to catch our breath. From a business perspective, I am pleased to report that our team are doing really well having adopted to this “new normal” way of working. TheContinue reading “COVID-19: Relief Measures Overview”
COVID-19: Private Sector Relief Initiatives
By Clive Stewart CA(SA) The Rupert and Oppenheimer families have each made R1 billion available to assist small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) that have been impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to popular belief, these funds were not donated to The Solidarity Fund, but will each have their own objectives and beContinue reading “COVID-19: Private Sector Relief Initiatives”
COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit
Update: There have been significant changes to the regulations and the registration process for the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS). Please refer to our updated guidance issued on 14/4/2020. Please find attached important guidance on the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit, a joint effort between Clive Stewart and myself this time. Please note thatContinue reading “COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) Benefit”
COVID-19: Tax Measures in Response to Covid-19 Pandemic
If you have not already seen our President’s address to the nation last night, it is well worth a watch: https://www.enca.com/news/livestream-president-ramaphosa-addresses-nation I was impressed to hear that the “track and trace” process will continue and that there will be expanded testing. All of this at a time when our Statistics remain in the “lower leagues”Continue reading “COVID-19: Tax Measures in Response to Covid-19 Pandemic”
COVID-19: Debt Relief Scheme and Business Growth / Resilience Facility Guidelines
We hope you are all doing well, getting used to this new normal. For some of us, we have already been in isolation for a while and a weekend spent at home entirely with family is becoming familiar. For others, it is new. There are some positives – notice how quiet the crime groups areContinue reading “COVID-19: Debt Relief Scheme and Business Growth / Resilience Facility Guidelines”
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