COVID-19: Temporary Employer-Employee relief Scheme (TERS) – A Limited Extension
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 have…
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 extension…
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 the…
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 potential…
COVID-19: SARS Tax Filing Season 2020
By Jane Lotter CA(SA) In the interests of supporting Social Distancing, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has introduced changes to the tax filing process for the 2020 tax year. Although these changes are designed to simplify processes, some of the systems are being implemented for the first time and taxpayers will need to carefully monitor…
Reflection: Surviving the Storm – Lessons from a Disaster at Sea
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) This reflection is part of our series on Leadership Response in a Time of Crisis, focussing on Surviving the Storm. We draw on lessons learnt from a disaster at sea, the 1991 sinking of the Oceanos off the Wild Coast of South Africa. A moment of extreme crisis at sea brings into sharp focus…
COVID-19: Lockdown Regulations Level 3
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) The following provides high level guidance on the regulations and guidelines applicable to the Level 3 Lockdown Regulations. The Level 3 regulations are fairly broad in their application and, although there are some anomalies, in the main businesses should have a fairly clear understanding of what activities are permitted. It is expected…
COVID-19: Strategic Business Support Response to Lockdown Regulations Level 3
Dear clients, colleagues and service providers The week ahead brings a sense of anticipation as many more businesses are able to recommence operations. While this wider resumption of economic activity is to be welcomed, it is clear that this will be far from a return to “normal”, with strict hygiene and social distancing protocols being necessary…
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 have…
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 Calculations…
COVID-19: NEWSFLASH – Lockdown Level 4 Essential Services –CIPC Bizportal Certificates
In yesterday’s update on Lockdown Restrictions Level 4 we included commentary to the effect that the previous regulations had been repealed in their entirety and that nothing had been included in the new regulations with regard to CIPC Bizportal Certificates. We advise that in practice, the functionality for updated certificates is available on the Bizportal Essential…
COVID-19: Lockdown Restrictions Level 4
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) The following provides a high level guidance on the regulations and guidelines applicable to the Level 4 Lockdown Status. Requirements for business that will operate under Level 4 Warrick de Wet (attorney) has kindly provided guidance on the application of these regulations: Businesses entitled to operate in Level 4 will be…
COVID-19: Strategic Business Support response to Level 4 Regulations
Dear clients, colleagues and service providers As we look to a new business week, so too we look to the implications of operating under level 4 lockdown restrictions. Some practical guidance is included in the article Lockdown Restrictions Level 4. Strategic Business Support has made a decision that we will continue to operate remotely for the…
Reflection: Surviving the Storm – Personal Wellbeing
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) The Covid-19 crisis presents as a storm with poor visibility where the end outcomes are far from known. It is unusual in that there have been times of rapid change and upheaval, together with radically changed personal circumstances. One of the key themes of surviving a storm is care for the wellbeing…
Reflection: Crisis Preparedness
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) One of the major challenges presented by the Covid-19 crisis is the speed with which the health pandemic has spread. It is hard to believe that just three months ago there were less than 12,000 recorded infections and 259 deaths globally. In my own life I reflect on having been in a cold…
Reflection: Leadership Response in a Time of Crisis
By Peter Cottrell CA(SA) In a previous reflection “Life Beyond: The Inspiration of a Life at Sea” I shared a vision of hope from an inspirational South African seafarer, Constance Nengovhela. As I reflect on Constance’s story, it offers much insight into the strategy for surviving a crisis, including a realistic assessment of the severity…
COVID-19: NEWSFLASH – Covid-19 Draft Risk Adjusted Strategy (Key Sectors and Priorities)
This is a short advisory to draw the South African Government’s draft Risk Adjusted Strategy to be phased in with effect 1 May 2020. The draft strategy document contains proposals for the phased easing of lock-down restrictions with levels ranging from 5 (lock-down) to 1 (fairly wide freedom of movement permitted, but with health and…
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 Small…
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 that…
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 prepared…
COVID-19: Essential Services – Updated CIPC Bizportal Registration Requirements
Please find below an urgent update from Riona Pillay (Warrick de Wet Attorneys) regarding the revised Bizportal registration requirements for providers of essential goods and services. Please note that the existing certificates are no longer valid and essential service providers are urged to register and download an updated certificate as soon as possible. The process for…
COVID-19: The Virtual Office
By Grant Auld (IT Service Provider) A lot of companies were ill-prepared for the Lockdown declared by our President, especially with regards to the IT infrastructure required to support work from home. With many needing to continue working during the Lockdown there was a mad scramble to get this enabled and most of the solutions…
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 overriding…
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’…
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 eligible…
Life Beyond: The Inspiration of a Life at Sea
By Peter Cottrell Constance Nengovhela is an inspirational South African, offering a vision of hope that is so desperately needed at this time in our history. Born in Ha Mashau village in Limpopo, Constance serves as an active seafarer on international shipping routes. In between, she is an entrepreneur having launched an inspirational clothing line “Life…
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 to…
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 and…
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. The…
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 be…
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 that…
Covid-19: “Hands and Hearts” (a reflection)
Dear clients, colleagues and service providers In our senior staff meeting on Monday, we were reflecting on a theme of “Hands and Hearts”. In this strange new reality most of us are working at home, or possibly be taking a mandatory break, in a place of physical isolation. I have heard of numerous accounts of…
COVID-19: Guidelines for Electronic Meetings
By Winette van der Merwe Here are some guidelines to ensure that electronic meetings are as effective as possible: If the meeting is on a new electronic platform, download the software well in advance of the meeting.Test your video and audio before the meeting.Check that your device is charged and/or that the power is plugged…
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”…
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 are…
COVID-19: A Brief Update on Essential Services
Please find below an update from Warrick de Wet on the current status of the registration requirements with regard to essential goods and services. This provides much needed answers to what was an extremely stressful situation yesterday, particularly with regard to certain issues that remain unresolved. Warrick has also given extremely useful legal guidance on…
COVID-19: Lock-Down Regulations and Essential Services
By: Warrick de Wet (Attorney) On 25 March 2020, additional Disaster Management Regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act 2002, dealing with the national lockdown from midnight on 26 March to midnight on 16 April 2020, were issued. In terms of the lockdown Regulations every person shall remain at his place of residence for the period…
COVID-19: A Curveball on the Eve of Lockdown (ESSENTIAL SERVICES)
I had thought it would be a few days before another update was necessary, and it actually feels like about a week. But in reality it was only yesterday. This shows the pace and which things are moving and, for those of us whose businesses remain open, the sheer magnitude of the challenges we are…
An Update from Strategic Business Support
It is hard to believe that just on Monday I wrote to you to inform of the physical closure of our office, but the fact that our team would be working remotely with the objective of providing you continued service during these unprecedented times. I spoke of how the week before had been extraordinary and,…
Business as Unusual
Dear clients, colleagues and service providers This last week has been extraordinary to say the least! As this COVID-19 crisis develops, there may well be a profound call to care for the needy and the sick, and that may cost us our very lives. But in the meanwhile there is something profoundly important that we…
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