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Wow. How important things flip flop!

SARS decided in their (its?) wisdom that a pure capital gain could not pass through the conduit and be taxed in the hands of a beneficiary. They imposed penalties and interest on the ABC Trust which, they deemed should have declared the gain and paid CGT.

In ABC Trust v Commissioner of the South African Revenue Services (IT 24918)(18 March 2021), however, the Tax Court overturned SARS’ decision and declared that the CGT was, in fact, payable by the beneficiary.

So the answer to the title question is – Yes!

For those of you who, like me, prefer to read the source of what I am now saying, here it is (the words in italics are mine, the rest is straight from the Income Tax Act):

Eighth Schedule Para 80 (2)  Subject to paragraphs 64E (share incentive schemes), 68 (Attribution of capital gain to spouse), 69 (Attribution of capital gain to parent of minor child) and 71 (Attribution of capital gain subject to revocable vesting), where a trust determines a capital gain in respect of the disposal of an asset in a year of assessment during which a beneficiary of that trust (other than any person contemplated in paragraph 62 (a) to (e)) (Donations and bequests to public benefit organisations and exempt persons) who is a resident has a vested right or acquires a vested right (including a right created by the exercise of a discretion) to an amount derived from that capital gain but not to the asset disposed of, an amount that is equal to so much of the amount to which that beneficiary of that trust is entitled in terms of that right—

(a)       must be disregarded for the purpose of calculating the aggregate capital gain or aggregate capital loss of the trust; and

(b)       must be taken into account as a capital gain for the purpose of calculating the aggregate capital gain or aggregate capital loss of that beneficiary.

2 comments

  1. Regine Masson

    And if the beneficiary is another trust? Can the conduit principle go further than the first level of beneficiaries?

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