News & Articles
Tax Incentive for rooftop solar panels
In the 2023 national budget speech, Finance Minister Enoch Gondongwana unveiled a series of draft tax relief initiatives aimed at promoting renewable energy adoption among households and alleviating the burden on the struggling national power grid. These proposed tax relief incentives were published in the 2023 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (Draft Amendment Bill) which we briefly unpack herein.
Factors courts must consider when reviewing state tenders
With so much attention the last few years on corruption, tender fraud and unauthorised government procurement, a question that is frequently asked is to what extent our courts are allowed to become involved with government tenders and set them aside?
Can a body corporate reveal the criminal record of an employee to owners?
Can the body corporate of a section title reveal to owners that an employee has a criminal record for a serious crime? This is a question we receive more often than would be expected from body corporates. So, what is the answer, can they, or can’t they reveal this information?
How big is the Financial Intelligence Centre bite?
More and more accountable institutions are being targeted by the Financial Intelligence Centre (“FIC”) for failing to comply with their duties under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (“FIC Act”). But what can happen if you don’t comply?
New registration requirements for non-profit organisations
How does the recently passed General Laws (Anti-money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”) affect the proposed Nonprofit Organisation Amendment Bill of 2021 (“NPO Bill”) and what does it mean for non-profit organisations (“NPOs”)?
Why informed consent must be present for medical procedures
People generally rely on their doctor’s knowledge and expertise when it comes to making an informed decision about treatment or undergoing a procedure or not. This is a relationship of good faith and trust. Unfortunately, sometimes doctors get it wrong and fail to properly inform their patients of the inherent risks to a treatment or procedure. When does such failure amount to a lack of informed consent?
Estate agents and their obligations under the new Anti-money Laundering Amendment Act
Closely related to the recent greylisting of South Africa is the passing late in 2022 of the new General Laws Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Amendment Act, 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”). The Amendment Act introduces several key changes to areas of law affecting trusts, companies and non-profit organisations in an attempt to tighter regulate these entities seen as prevalent to abuse for illicit criminal activities. Importantly for estate agents, changes have also been introduced to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (“FIC Act”) which affects all estate agents as Accountable Institutions. In this article we take a quick look at some of the main Amendment Act changes estate agents must take note of.
Water rights can now be transferred
For many owners of water rights, the confusion over the last few years about whether you can or can’t transfer these rights to another, has been quite frustrating. At last, the Constitutional Court has provided much-needed clarity and hopefully laid the issue finally to rest. In this article, we briefly review the position as it now stands.
Spousal Consent: unveiling the challenges in community of property marriages
When spouses are married in community of property, our law dictates that a spouse requires the consent of the other spouse when entering into a transaction that affects the joint estate. But what happens when one spouse refuses to provide consent?
Why can deceased estates take so long to be finalised?
The family of a deceased are often confronted with the harsh reality of having to wind up a deceased’s estate after his or her passing. Usually, there is the expectation that this should go quickly, but unfortunately, the reality is that the process is hardly ever a quick one. So how long then does it take to wind up a deceased estate?
Competition Act new draft rules for company divestiture recommendations
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition has recently published new draft rules for comment relating to divestiture recommendations made by the Competition Commission. In this article, we take a look at these new rules.
The ‘what’ and ‘when’ of the new beneficial ownership reporting for companies
Surprisingly, many companies remain blissfully unaware of the new company reporting requirements introduced by the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”). The Amendment Act introduces changes to the company environment (effective 1 April 2023) which will have an administrative impact on South African companies. In this article we delve into the ‘what’ and ‘when’ of these new reporting requirements.
Why trustees must now also record the accountable institutions they engage with
With the passing of the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”) late in December 2022, a number of critical amendments were introduced to the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 (“Trust Act”), including amongst others the responsibility by trustees to record details about the Accountable Institutions they engage with in their capacity as trustee. In this article, we look a little deeper at this requirement and what it will mean in practice for trustees.
Important increases to the national minimum wage
The media has been reporting on a new minimum earnings threshold for employees. This article briefly summarises the new earnings threshold’s main impact on employees and employers.
Things to know before you undertake a sectional title development
Clients often walk in and ask about the process to undertake a sectional title development, thinking it is an opportunity to develop a piece of land they have. In this article we unpack a few of the practicalities relating to establishing a sectional title development and what you should keep in mind when considering this.
Tackling the issue: who is accountable for rugby injuries?
Rugby is arguably one of South Africa’s most loved sports with players participating from a young age. Despite continual improvements to the safety of the game, injuries are still a frequent phenomenon and of grave concern, particularly when incurred at a scholar level, often raising the question of who should be liable when such a rugby injury happens to a scholar.
Neglecting employee training can be a ticking time bomb for workplace injuries – Who is liable?
An unfortunate yet common phenomenon, is a lack of training afforded to new employees or employees placed in new positions. Business pressures and the unavailability of a manager with time to guide and properly train an employee are usually the reasons advanced to defend the lack of training. But what happens if an employee gets injured because they have not been trained properly? Can the employer be held accountable for this?
Untangling the Knot: Exploring Maintenance Claims at the end of heterosexual life partnerships
In a recent study by Statistics South Africa, it was found that there is a declining interest in marriage with many couples electing to live together as permanent life partners rather than entering into a marriage or civil union. The question that often arises though, is whether a party to such a heterosexual relationship is entitled to claim maintenance when the relationship is terminated.
Trustees take note! How to record your beneficial ownership structure
In a previous article we unpacked the introduction and meaning of the new ‘beneficial owner’ definition introduced into the law of trusts by the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act 22 of 2022 (“Amendment Act”). With these changes being effective as of 1 April 2023, trustees should be awake to the proposed process for recording and submitting your trust’s beneficial ownership information to the Master of the High Court.
Trustees MUST now report their status! Find out why
With major amendments to South Africa’s anti-money laundering framework scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2023 as part of Government’s strategy to remedy South Africa’s grey listing status, all trustees should take careful note of the new disclosure requirements that will apply to them.
Can you stop your spouse from sharing in your pension fund after divorce?
Can a spouse married in community of property at divorce claim that the other spouse forfeits their right to share in their pension?
Settle your dispute with a settlement agreement
In dispute resolution matters, the settlement agreement has become an important tool to cut short protracted conflict and litigation and for parties to agree to a full and final settlement of their dispute. In this article, we explore in a bit more detail how and when a settlement agreement should be used to settle a dispute.
Are you allowed to install solar panels in your sectional title unit?
As a result of the continuing woes of load shedding , many sectional owners are considering alternative and renewable energy solutions like solar panels to minimize the effect that load shedding has on their households. A common question, therefore, being raised by sectional owners is whether they are allowed to install solar panels at their sectional unit.
Don’t forget about your will when getting married or divorced!
In the highs of getting married or the lows of divorce, parties generally forget to think about their estate planning. This is understandable as no one wants to entertain thoughts of death and division of assets during those times! Unfortunately, such an oversight can create a mess in the event of your untimely death. The golden rule is to always, when there are material changes in your life like marriage, children, divorce and even death, revisit your estate planning and bring it up to date with the necessary changes.
New advertising rules for crypto providers aim to protect consumers
The continuing fascination with cryptocurrencies and the use of cryptocurrency as a legitimate payment medium and investment asset has given rise to loads of crypto providers claiming big returns. Unfortunately, many of the claims made are wildly exaggerated and fail to properly highlight the risks involved in cryptocurrencies. Such uncontrolled advertising has necessitated new advertising rules in respect of crypto advertising.
Can you be fired if artificial intelligence can do your job?
Social media has been flooded with chatter about the chatbot phenomenon ChatGPT which seems destined to be able to, if not far better do, what humans can! So, what does this mean for employees? Can you be replaced by a bot like ChatGPT? In this article, we take a closer look at what this could mean for employees in the not-so-distant future.
New disclosure requirements for companies. Comply or risk being deregistered!
It is no secret that companies are used as vehicles to hide money laundering and terrorist financing activities. Internationally, this has necessitated increasing corporate disclosure requirements to apply to corporate entities. With the new Amendment Act, such disclosure requirements have now also found their way into our law to allow authorities to have a better view of who the beneficial owners are that own and control a company.
We do not wish to marry; how do we regulate our relationship?
“South Africans are losing interest in marriage”, this is the essence of the recent study done by Stats SA on the number of marriages and divorces being concluded by South Africans over the last ten years.
Companies take note of new beneficial ownership reporting requirements
You only need to watch a movie or series about drug trafficking, terrorism or even cyber hackers to associate criminal activities with the use of ‘shelf’ companies, ‘offshore’ companies or some or other form of corporate entity through which clever criminals’ squirrel away their ill-gotten gains out of sight and touch from authorities. But is this all just cliched stereotyping of the poor corporate entity form or are companies really being used and abused by criminals.
How enforceable are penalties levied for failing to build your house in an estate?
Every now and then we get a call from a perturbed client who has just received a sizable penalty on his monthly levy account from his body corporate or homeowner’s association for failing to have started/completed (this can vary) the building of a house on their estate erf. The demand is to know whether this penalty is enforceable and fair.