SARS pays back R10bn, but some taxpayers’ refunds are being withheld

Taxpayers should inform SARS if they have been unemployed for a full year or longer, to avoid being flagged as non-compliant.

CPD back in a Big Way

It is evident that the focus on continuous professional development is increasing. As noted in the article above, the FSB envisages publishing proposed new CPD requirements by the end of the year. The […]

FSB Clarifies Outcomes-Based TCF

Ms Leanne Jackson, Head of Treating Customers Fairly at the Financial Services Board recently responded to a Moonstone article published on the Insurance Gateway website: An article headlined “Not quite Treating Customers Fairly?” […]

Treasury Proposals to Promote Savings

A media release on Friday sheds more light on these planned initiatives by the government to supplement the current interest income exemption with tax free savings accounts: This paper lays the basis for […]

Asisa Feedback on Budget Speech Comment

From the February 2014 edition of the Asisa’s Dispatches: A number of members and stakeholders have asked us to provide context to the announcement by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan as part of his […]

Withholding of Pension Withdrawal Benefits

A recent determination by the Pension Funds Adjudicator concerns an employer’s decision to instruct the administrator of the pension fund to withhold the complainant’s withdrawal benefits after terminating his service. In their response […]

Not quite TCF?

The fair treatment of clients by certain product providers was recently questioned by Bruce Cameron in an article on causal event charges. A key part of ensuring proper market conduct is a new […]

Retirement funding gets a boost

The Taxation Laws Amendment Act No. 31 of 2013, published in Government Gazette No. 37158 on 12 December 2013, contains very important changes to the tax treatment of contributions to retirement funding. Hettie […]

Is Healthcare Remuneration Above Board?

We recently queried the discrepancy in commission payable to healthcare brokers and what their counterparts in the short-term industry earn for essentially providing the same service. In response to an enquiry from a […]

Hedge Fund Regulation a Step Closer

The National Treasury and the Financial Services Board (FSB) published a Joint media statement outlining their preliminary response to stakeholder comments on proposals released in September 2012 for regulating hedge funds. Annexure A, […]

Old Mutual Representatives Granted Exemption

Board Notice 273 of 2013, published in December last year, provides details of an exemption granted to certain Old Mutual representatives in respect of the experience and qualification criteria applicable to: Collective investment […]

Blue Financial Services Loses Licence

A recent article in Business Day shed light on why the FSB suspended the licence of Blue Financial Services, a player in the micro-lending business. “The FSB has suspended the licence as a […]

Causal Event Charges Back in the Spotlight

The latest determination by the Pension Fund Adjudicator (PFA) brought the levying of penalties on retirement annuities, when changes are effected, to the fore again. I was unable to obtain a copy of […]

"MyLawyer” Settles with Enforcement Committee

The FSB published details of a settlement reached with a company trading as “MyLawyer” (the respondent) who acknowledged that it had contravened section 7(1)(a) of the Short-term Insurance Act (STIA). From November 2011, […]

An Unusual Finding

The following article is reproduced from Talking Point, a publication issued by Walkers Attorneys in Cape Town, with their kind permission. Sangoma training and work ethic by Amien Hoosain Kiewits Kroon Country Estate […]

Are Pension Fund Trustees Equipped to handle Death Benefits?

An article on the Norton Rose Fulbright website poses an interesting and challenging question to trustees in terms of their obligation as far as the distribution of death benefits is concerned. Prior to […]

Fraudulent Insurance Claim Backfires Badly

A fairly humorous article on a serious topic recently appeared in the Natal Mercury. The following synopsis was published in Legalbrief Today: A fraudulent insurance claim for R4 500 for a water-damaged cellphone […]