A trust has many advantages including asset protection, savings on estate duty and capital gains tax. However, care is needed! One needs to be knowledgeable of the trust laws to reap full benefit of these advantages. The Trust Property Control Act is specific about the fact that trustees have a big responsibility. Now the question is: how responsible is responsible enough? Do you have the knowledge to act responsibly?

We invite C2M clients to join Prof Walter Geach for a detailed discussion on the use of trusts in practice. Kindly refer to the attached invitation. At this half-day seminar, he will highlight legal requirements, the duties of trustees, the rights of beneficiaries, amendment of trust deeds and contracting by and with a trust. Prof Geach will also focus on corporate governance and illustrate the responsibility on you as trustee or beneficiary of a trust.

By attending you will gain a valuable, practical and incisive view of the advantages, disadvantages and problems associated with the use of a trust. (Log CPD points/hours for this event. FPI members may claim 3.5 CPD points.)

For more information contact Helané Meintjes on 083 3323 886 or email helane@c2mca.co.za.

Individual provisional taxpayers should immediately collect all tax certificates, including investment returns and schedules of medical expenses, should they wish to claim back tax on these.

Individual provisional taxpayers only have until 31 January 2012 to submit their 2011 annual Income Tax returns (IT12) to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

Should you require assistance from C2M in this regard, kindly submit the relevant information to the tax department before 23 January 2012 or contact the C2M on 021 914 0261 or email info@c2mca.co.za.

Kindly take note of the following:

Companies, Close Corporations (CC’s) and Trusts with a February year-end have until 28 February 2012 to submit their 2011 Annual Income Tax returns (IT14).

Provisional taxpayers (CCs, companies, trusts and individuals)  also need to submit their IRP6 provisional returns by 28 February 2012. These entities will now have the added requirement of reflecting turnover as part of SARS modernisation process to try and gauge the reasonableness of taxes being paid and to assist SARS in their revenue estimation process. Taxpayers will be required to furnish their estimated turnover for the year ended February 2012, which will be time consuming, so you are encouraged to submit the relevant information as soon as possible.

Penalties will be imposed if provisional taxpayers, with a taxable income of more than R1m per annum, fail to use an estimation which is 80% or more of the actual taxable income. Kindly note that all provisional taxpayers expose themselves to penalties and interest being raised should they fail to submit the IRP6 return and/or make the necessary payment by the due date.

Other deadlines include:
•              31 January 2012 for Turnover Tax Return (TT03)
•              28 February 2012 for corporate tax returns with a February year end