The answer used to be “Yes”, then it was “No”, and now it is again “Yes”.

I guess it all depends on which side of the bed the Master got out of this morning!

The problem arises when there’s a need to change the beneficiaries, or when the trust deed was so badly drafted that it is hardly worth the...

I get so many people asking me why we have not registered them as shareholders at CIPC, it’s time to explain.

• Members of CCs are registered at CIPC (because they are, amongst other things, “directors” of the CC).
• Directors of companies are registered at CIPC.
• Shareholders are not registered anyw...

Transactions, such as the sale of shares or fixed property between related parties are deemed for tax purposes to have been at market value, regardless of the documented transaction value.

It often happens that you will want to sell assets into your trust structure and you are a connected person ...

When a company or CC has failed to submit Annual returns, CIPC marks them “In de-registration process”. To return to “In Business”, we simply have to submit the outstanding returns.

Then, periodially, CIPC will Finally de-register those companies and it is usually impossible to restore them.

CIPC...

What is it about attorneys? Are they taught to write shockingly bad English or do they just pick it up as they go along?

I have a standard lease agreement that’s been floating around for years. We found a lovely house to rent here in Knysna and I offered to draft the lease. I set out to eliminate...

We recently formed a company for someone. He wanted the name Bidvest S…….. (Pty) Ltd. I can’t say what the S…….. was but it described the kind of business that he was in.

The computer at CIPC would not see a conflict because there are so many Bidvests (52 at the last count) that it would interpre...

I was chatting to a client on Zoom and trying to do some quick arithmetic at the same time. I didn’t do too well!

She had R35m which she wanted to lend to an investment company that would be owned by a new trust.

The question was. How much tax would she pay as a result of s7C of the Income Tax Ac...

Last week I talked about a client who is building his company on bad business instead of good business and I briefly mentioned some performance ratios that he needed to achieve in order to get things on the right path.

So, if I know nothing about his particular industry, how can I tell him what h...

We recently completed a year’s accounts for one of our bookkeeping clients.

This time around, I noticed that his turnover had shot up from R1m to R4m. Seemed like things were going well. Until I looked closer.

• His net profit dropped from R53K to R47K, so he was doing four times the amount of wor...

When you form a trust, you actually become four different people.

• You as a person whose financial affairs are entirely separate from those of the trust.
• You as the founder, the person who forms the trust and who has to agree to any changes to the trust deed.
• You as one of the trustees who will m...