Index Investing News
Sunday, May 25, 2025
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Index Investing News
No Result
View All Result

South Africa a non-dom tax haven?

by Index Investing News
October 21, 2023
in Opinion
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
0
Home Opinion
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter



South Africa a non-dom tax haven?

By Andrew Wellsted

Most South Africans are concerned about the trajectory of the economy and the political landscape in the country. Don’t be surprised if the term “emigration” comes up once or twice in most polite conversations.

But most honest South Africans will also admit that South Africa remains, in many respects, a fantastic place to live and raise a family. The climate; extensive and varied shoreline; internal geography; people; adventurous lifestyle,and the fact that a rand does go a long way locally, are among the compelling reasons why people still want to live in South Africa.

It turns out, somewhat surprisingly, that it can also be a tax efficient place to live for residents and immigrants; with a little planning of course.

By way of brief digression, the UK has famously had a tax regime known as the “non-dom” regime. This meant that, if you were residing in the UK, but were not domiciled there for tax purposes (a bit of a technical exercise), you paid tax only on income that arose from a source within the UK. In lay persons terms, money that was retained offshore was not taxable in the UK.

The regime was in place in order to make the UK an attractive place for high net-worth individuals to live and prosper. The idea is that if the wealthy live in a particular place, they spend cash there, bring their friends there and so on. The most famous exponent of this system being of course the prime minister’s (PM) wife, Aksharta Murty.

The regime has been criticised by some for favouring the wealthy and making real estate unaffordable to locals. That said, South Africa needs any foreign investment it can get, as well as any good public relations it can lay its hands on; we would be mad not to welcome itinerant swallows here with opine arms.

If you are au fait with South Africa’s rules on the taxation of foreign structures, there are several scenarios in which the tax treatment envisaged under the non-dom rules can, broadly speaking, apply to people residing in South Africa.

Take the example of a wealthy European that moves to South Africa (probably Cape Town, but there are many more locations on offer) for their retirement years. With some relatively basic pre-immigration tax structuring, our immigrant could arrive in South Africa with few assets on their balance sheet, and the remainder of their former estate owned in an offshore structure such as a foreign trust.

The assets will be accessible, but are not taxable in the immigrants’ hands in South Africa. It is also relatively easy to become tax resident in South Africa; the summary being that our immigrant can now, in a short space of time, become resident while also claim the protection of a South African Double Tax Treaty should any other jurisdiction (such as their place of origin) claim taxation rights.

The result is that our immigrant is taxable, in certain circumstances (usually infrequently), only on funds brought into South Africa or on income arising in their hands directly during their time spent in South Africa. The offshore assets remain outside the South African tax net as our immigrant no longer owns these.

They can then enjoy the incredible landscape and lifestyle with access to Sub-Saharan Africa from a travel perspective with, in all likelihood, a massive drop in their effective tax rate. Of course, they can also be as itinerant as they wish; there are no day counting rules or other hurdles tying them here.

Remarkably, and due in no small measure to the relaxation of the exchange control regime, similar outcomes may be attainable for historic residents. With some careful planning, and a little patience, residents may be able, to a greater or lesser extent, to achieve similar results. Again, this would involve a foreign ownership structure where the assets of the South African in question are slowly, but legitimately, transferred into an offshore ownership structure. The outcome is much the same as described above, however.

The proposition described seems a little shocking and sounds implausible at first, but is a compelling one: it is possible to make South Africa your home (and tax base), to travel the world if you need to, with the peace of mind that your tax affairs are optimised and you live in a beautiful, if not flawed, country. If we could just get service delivery, it wouldl be paradise.

* Wellsted is tax director at Osborn, Wellsted and Paulsen

PERSONAL FINANCE



Source link

Tags: AfricaHavennondomSouthTax
ShareTweetShareShare
Previous Post

Binance shutting down European Visa debit card in December By Cointelegraph

Next Post

India vs New Zealand LIVE: ODI World Cup cricket updates today

Related Posts

Christian Rally In Seattle Park Attacked By Violent Woke Mob – FREEDOMBUNKER

Christian Rally In Seattle Park Attacked By Violent Woke Mob – FREEDOMBUNKER

by Index Investing News
May 25, 2025
0

The 12 months of 2020 was an unmitigated catastrophe for the US for quite a few causes.  With so many...

The DC Israeli Embassy staffer killings are what occurs when phrases grow to be weapons

The DC Israeli Embassy staffer killings are what occurs when phrases grow to be weapons

by Index Investing News
May 25, 2025
0

Phrases have penalties. Lethal phrases have lethal penalties. Two workers members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Sarah Milgrim, 26,...

Well being Speak: Why CBSE’s transfer to have sugar boards in colleges is wholesome

Well being Speak: Why CBSE’s transfer to have sugar boards in colleges is wholesome

by Index Investing News
May 25, 2025
0

A brand new Central Board of Secondary Schooling (CBSE) directive has requested colleges affiliated to it throughout the nation to...

Authorities-Assisted Suicide Is Spreading Throughout The Western World – FREEDOMBUNKER

Authorities-Assisted Suicide Is Spreading Throughout The Western World – FREEDOMBUNKER

by Index Investing News
May 24, 2025
0

Is it humanitarian empathy, or a nihilistic demise cult that wishes a authorized rationale for inhabitants management?  The legislative push...

‘Advance tipping’ on ride-hailing apps is merely a symptom of lax legislation enforcement

‘Advance tipping’ on ride-hailing apps is merely a symptom of lax legislation enforcement

by Index Investing News
May 24, 2025
0

In a publish on X final week Pralhad Joshi wrote, “Forcing or nudging customers to pay a tip upfront for...

Next Post
India vs New Zealand LIVE: ODI World Cup cricket updates today

India vs New Zealand LIVE: ODI World Cup cricket updates today

Egypt-Gaza border crossing opens, letting desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians

Egypt-Gaza border crossing opens, letting desperately needed aid flow to Palestinians

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECOMMENDED

Mawson Infrastructure stock dips after Cantor downgrades on liquidity concerns (MIGI)

Mawson Infrastructure stock dips after Cantor downgrades on liquidity concerns (MIGI)

August 24, 2023
Bearing Witness to Warfare – Econlib

Bearing Witness to Warfare – Econlib

November 4, 2024
The Dow soars, Big Tech tumbles: What’s next for stocks as investors await Fed guidance

The Dow soars, Big Tech tumbles: What’s next for stocks as investors await Fed guidance

October 30, 2022
Petrobras committee clears Bolsonaro’s decide for CEO (NYSE:PBR)

Petrobras committee clears Bolsonaro’s decide for CEO (NYSE:PBR)

June 25, 2022
Is Freenome a Leading Cancer Blood-Testing Company?

Is Freenome a Leading Cancer Blood-Testing Company?

December 11, 2022
Earnings Summary: A snapshot of Nordstrom’s (JWN) Q4 2023 report

Earnings Summary: A snapshot of Nordstrom’s (JWN) Q4 2023 report

March 11, 2024
Fartcoin Merchants Should Watch This Key Stage if Solana Hits 0

Fartcoin Merchants Should Watch This Key Stage if Solana Hits $200

May 8, 2025
What Is It And How To Make The Most Out Of It?

What Is It And How To Make The Most Out Of It?

March 12, 2022
Index Investing News

Get the latest news and follow the coverage of Investing, World News, Stocks, Market Analysis, Business & Financial News, and more from the top trusted sources.

  • 1717575246.7
  • Browse the latest news about investing and more
  • Contact us
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • xtw18387b488

Copyright © 2022 - Index Investing News.
Index Investing News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World
  • Investing
  • Financial
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Stocks
  • Crypto
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion

Copyright © 2022 - Index Investing News.
Index Investing News is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In