Tax Café — articles and insights from TRM Tax Attorneys
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Tax Café

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Selling your company? Company AF, dividend stripping and the GAAR
Tax Planning29 Oct
Selling your company? Company AF, dividend stripping and the GAAR

The Tax Court’s ruling on dividend stripping under the general anti-avoidance rule tells every seller, buyer and adviser that the form of a deal now matters as much as the price.

Schalk Pieterse
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Frozen on an email: what Dumakude means for the account holder who cannot explain a payment
Tax Debt05 Oct
Frozen on an email: what Dumakude means for the account holder who cannot explain a payment

A bank may freeze an account on another bank's warning, and SARS may then collect from it without a final demand. For the account holder who cannot explain the payment, the civil loss is often only the start.

Rudi Stander
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Pay now, argue later: time for a middle way?
Tax Disputes21 Sept
Pay now, argue later: time for a middle way?

The Tax Administration Act already stops SARS from collecting while a suspension request is pending. The recent judgments, and a Tax Ombud complaint open for more than eleven years, show that the protection on paper is not reaching taxpayers in practice.

Schalk Pieterse
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Got a SARS assessment wrong? Here's when you don't need a full dispute
Tax Disputes15 Sept
Got a SARS assessment wrong? Here's when you don't need a full dispute

Picture this: SARS issues an assessment, and something on it is simply wrong: an expense added back twice, a donation receipt captured incorrectly, or a processing slip on SARS's end. Your first instinct might be to object. However, launching a formal objection has its own deadlines, forms and procedures, and if you get the process wrong, you can lose your right to challenge the assessment altogether.

Leanne Wium
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Dormant Companies And SARS Debt: The Risk Of Personal Liability
Tax Debt08 Sept
Dormant Companies And SARS Debt: The Risk Of Personal Liability

Many business owners assume that once an entity has ceased trading and become dormant, its tax affairs can simply be left unattended. Unfortunately, this can create a significant and often overlooked risk: personal liability for the entity’s outstanding SARS debt.

Wynand Neveling
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The R2.3 Million VAT Threshold: SARS Is Applying It, But The Legislation Is Not Yet Finalised
VAT01 Sept
The R2.3 Million VAT Threshold: SARS Is Applying It, But The Legislation Is Not Yet Finalised

SARS is administering a compulsory VAT registration threshold of R2.3 million and a voluntary registration threshold of R120 000 from 1 April 2026. The enacted Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 has not yet been amended to reflect those amounts. Section 23(1)(a) still contains the R1 million compulsory threshold and section 23(3)(b) still contains the R50 000 voluntary threshold.

Leanne Wium & Schalk Pieterse
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Removal In Transit: The Hidden Liability Risk For Clearing Agents
Customs & Excise24 Apr
Removal In Transit: The Hidden Liability Risk For Clearing Agents

The High Court judgment in QI Logistics (Pty) Ltd v CSARS provides a clear warning to clearing agents involved in removal in transit ("RIT") transactions. These structures are widely used in practice, but the consequences of non-compliance are significant where proof of export cannot be established.

James Moolman
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When You Change Your Case Too Late: A Hard Lesson From Baseline v SARS (2026 ZASCA 20)
Tax Disputes08 Apr
When You Change Your Case Too Late: A Hard Lesson From Baseline v SARS (2026 ZASCA 20)

As tax practitioners, we often focus on what argument to run. This judgment is a reminder that in tax litigation, the real difficulty often lies not only in what case is advanced, but in whether that case has been properly identified, framed and preserved at the correct procedural stage.

Schalk Pieterse & Chris Stroud
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Diesel Refund Changes From April 2026: More Value, Tighter Scrutiny, And No Margin For Error
Tax Compliance31 Mar
Diesel Refund Changes From April 2026: More Value, Tighter Scrutiny, And No Margin For Error

The 2025 Budget Speech introduced a targeted but important change to South Africa's diesel refund system. From 1 April 2026, qualifying on-land users in the farming, forestry, and mining can claim a refund on 100% of eligible diesel on qualifying activities.

Leanne Wium
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Section 11G: Tightening The Rules On Interest Income Deductions
Tax Planning27 Mar
Section 11G: Tightening The Rules On Interest Income Deductions

The introduction of section 11G marks a deliberate shift in the taxation of passive interest structures. It follows the withdrawal of Practice Note 31, titled "Interest paid on moneys borrowed", but does not simply replicate that regime.

Karlie Venter
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SARS Cannot Change Its Case Mid-Dispute
Tax Disputes06 Mar
SARS Cannot Change Its Case Mid-Dispute

The Supreme Court of Appeal confirms that SARS cannot change the factual foundation of an assessment once litigation has started.

Resource of TRM
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GAAR in Action: What Mr Taxpayer G v SARS Means for South African Businesses
Tax Planning18 Nov
GAAR in Action: What Mr Taxpayer G v SARS Means for South African Businesses

Understanding the General Anti-Avoidance Rules through the lens of the Mr Taxpayer G case.

Chris Stroud
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