South Africa: Beneficial owner register and accountable institutions

TAX abstract

Trusts are now also obliged to submit information regarding beneficial owners to the Master of the High Court. These rules, as well as rules regarding the disclosure of beneficial ownership in respect of assets owned by companies, were introduced to address deficiencies identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) when greylisting South Africa.

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South Africa: Trust tax compliance obligations

TAX abstract

From a tax compliance perspective, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has introduced various new tax compliance measures to improve tax collection, with trusts as one of the focus areas. This includes a SARS awareness campaign regarding the obligation of a resident or non-resident trust to register as a taxpayer and submit income tax returns. There is also a new obligation on trusts to submit so-called third-party returns to SARS, containing information regarding distributions to beneficiaries

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