Testamentary trusts still have their place

How you can protect your assets from predators—including SARS Trusts have received a lot of bad press over the past few years, what with SARS taking a dim view of the use of trusts as a means of avoiding tax. A 2008 case involving a property trust, where the beneficiaries were changed in the hope […]

Who qualifies for a special trust and how is it taxed?

Unlike “conventional trusts” that are taxed at a flat tax rate, a special trust is taxed on the same sliding scale applicable to natural persons. The Income Tax Act provides for two types of special trusts: a so-called type-A and type-B trust. In essence, a type-A trust is created for a person (or persons) having […]

Section 7C of the Income Tax Act explained

What is section 7C? This section of the Income Tax Act is an anti-avoidance measure aimed at transactions between connected persons and trusts, where a trust is funded by low interest or interest-free loans. This is usually done to ensure that assets form part of the trust’s capital, and the funder (who is usually a […]