30/03/2020
COVID-19 TAX RELIEF MEASURES
The Minister of Finance released details on the proposed tax relief measures (for compliant taxpayers) announced by President Ramaphosa last week Monday. These are summarised very briefly below, but please read the Draft Explanatory Memorandum which includes the background, important requirements and examples: https://bit.ly/2QTpJvb
ETI Relief (1 April - 31 July 2020):
- Increasing max ETI currently claimable from R1 000 to R1 500 in the 1st qualifying 12 months and from R500 to R1 000 in the 2nd 12 qualifying months.
- Allowing monthly ETI claim of R500 for employees from the ages of:
o 18 to 29 who are no longer eligible for the ETI as the employer has claimed ETI in respect of those employees for 24 months; and
o 30 to 65 who are not eligible for the ETI due to their age.
- Accelerating the payment of ETI reimbursements from twice a year to monthly to improve cash flow
Deferral of portion of PAYE liability for compliant SMMEs (1 April - 31 July 2020)
- Deferral of payment of 20% of PAYE liability, without interest/penalties for late payment.
- The deferred PAYE liability must be paid to SARS in equal instalments over the 6 month period commencing on 1 August 2020; i.e. the first payment must be made on 7 September 2020.
Note: This will apply from the April payroll, payment due by 7 May
Deferral of portion of provisional tax liability for compliant SMMEs (1 April 2020 - 31 March 2021):
- Deferral of a portion of the 1st & 2nd provisional tax payment, without penalties & interest for late payment thereof;
- 1st provtax payment due from 01/04/20 - 30/09/20 = 15% x estimated total tax liability
- 2nd provtax from 01/04/20 - 31/03/21 = 65% x estimated total tax liability;
- Balance to be paid by third provisional tax payment date in order to avoid interest charges.
The deferral of PAYE and provtax relate to SMMEs and detail of these are provided in the EM. Regarding the proposal to defer payment of PAYE, the Draft EM describes these as businesses with an ‘annual turnover’ not exceeding R50 million. Regarding the proposal to defer payment of provisional tax, the Draft EM describes these as any company conducting a trade with an annual turnover not exceeding R50 million and states that the eligibility criteria in relation to individuals carrying on a business is yet to be finalised. It mentions one possibility as being where turnover is less than R5 million and no more than 10% of the turnover is derived from interest, dividends, foreign dividends, rental from the letting of fixed property and any remuneration.
The reliefs also will not apply where the taxpayer is in default in relation to any outstanding returns or outstanding tax debt.