The required draft Notice and Regulations to allow the introduction of tax free savings accounts from 1 March 2015 was published by the National Treasury on 14 November 2014. The closing date for responses is 3 December 2014.
The draft Regulations detail the products that will qualify as ‘tax free investments’, the disclosure requirements in respect of those products and the process for transferring amounts within a tax free savings account to a different service provider.
The draft Notice lists the service providers who may offer tax free savings and investments to the public and administer those accounts on their behalf. These include licenced banks, long term insurance companies, managers of registered collective investment schemes, authorised users, linked investment service providers and the National Government itself.
The draft Regulations follow the principle that products qualifying as tax free savings and investments should be simple to understand, transparent in their disclosure and suitable for the majority of individuals making use of such savings and investment products.
Full details are available on the National Treasury website: http://www.treasury.gov.za/.
