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MARCH 2010INTRODUCTION With
so many factors impacting upon the state of the economy, it is
difficult to know precisely in what direction our decision makers
will move. An example of this is that not one economic commentator
confidently predicted an interest rate cut in the latter part of
last month. TECHNOLOGY You
need not have to set search parameters in Microsoft Outlook every
time you initiate a search. By changing the parameters, the search
can be set up to search all folders. Simply click on Tools, then
Options and then, on the Preferences tab, select Search Options
and tick the All Folders Option. Particularly
useful when you wish to close a series of related spreadsheets
without closing Excel itself, is the ability of the File Close
command to be changed into the File Close All command. To achieve
this,
simply hold down the Shift key whilst pressing ALT+F+C. TAXATION Cheque Payments SARS
has announced that cheques made payable to “SARS” will no
longer be acceptable. They should be made payable to South African
Revenue Services. Persons making cheque payments should be extra
careful to comply with this instruction as the rejection of
incorrectly worded cheques may result in late payment penalties. PAYE
Filing Season and beyond By
now, employers should have collected their employees demographic
information and ensured that they are all registered for tax ready
for input into the latest version of E@syfile
Employer. This program was to be available for download on 1
April. However, at the time of writing, the program was
unavailable on the SARS website. Employers should check the site
daily for the upgrade. What
is available is a guide for employers to the new monthly
declaration process that will be in place for the 2011 tax year
and which should be applied with effect from the March 2010 EMP201
return. The new form is now available from all SARS branches and
on Efiling, for those employers that use that channel. SARS will
no longer accept lodgements of the old forms. DEADLINES Promotion
of Access to Information Act- 31 December 2011 Annual
Duty – end of the month following incorporation date Consumer
Protection Act – October 2010 New
Companies Act – no new CC registrations – approx. July 2010 Employers’
Tax Season – 1 April to 31 May 2010 ECONOMY Whilst the .5 percentage point cut in interest rates is to be welcomed by a large sector of the population, it will do little to negate the ravages of increased energy costs. In a time of reasonably stable oil prices and a strong rand, it is difficult to comprehend why it is necessary to raise the fuel price by a further 24 cents per litre above that announced in the budget. Certainly, it would be interesting, in the interests of transparency, to learn just how the collections from this source are put to use. However, the news that the CPI inflation rate has fallen to within the target range of SARB is gratifying and it is hoped that this trend can be maintained in the face of the pending energy price increases, particularly with the onset of winter and that season’s impact on the consumption of these resources. Two further causes for concern are the utterances of Julius Malema and the demotion of key judicial personnel. Whilst they in themselves have no direct impact on the economy, they could cause a critical review of the country’s status as an investment destination and thus impact on the strength of our currency. CIPRO You
may not be aware that the facility of lodging documents with the
Registrar of Companies and Close Corporations has, over the last
few weeks, been severely impaired. These impairments have resulted
from problems with the department’s technology stemming from
poor IT services. Those persons who wish to form or modify Close
Corporations or to convert their Companies to Close Corporations
are urged to do so as soon a possible. It is projected that the
new Companies Act will come into effect in the third quarter of
2010.From that date no conversions of companies to Close
Corporations or the formation of
new Close Corporations will be permitted. COMPANIES
ACT In
terms of the regulations to the new act, a prescribed officer is
not confined to company directors. The terms can also be applied
to persons who have executive or managerial authority over the
company’s operations. Thus those responsible for a company’s
financial and legal affairs can also be regarded as prescribed
officers. As such, those individuals will be subjected to the same
controls and sanctions for breach of duty as the directors of the
company. Companies will need to revise their indemnity insurance
polices to cover such individuals from personal liability that may
arise from their duties. The
Act states that a director must act:
Therefore,
these same conditions will apply to any prescribed officer.
However, its will be sufficient defence against a charge of
neglect, if the director can show that his actions were based on
information provided to him by an employee or company advisor
whose skills and knowledge in relation to the matter under review
are sufficiently superior to his own as to persuade him to act on
the information. In
terms of the new Act the only inhibitors to the acceptance of a
company name will be that the name:
Should
a name be rejected on any of the above grounds, the registration
of the company will not be impeded. Instead, the company will be
registered using its registration number as its name. Thus, the
company will be able to commence trading immediately and,
thereafter, submit an alternative name to replace the one that was
rejected. Following
on this, the incorporator should note that the Consumer Protection
Act will also come into force in 2010. In terms of that Act, the
ability of a company or close corporation to use an unregistered
trading name will be repealed. In fact, those entities will not be
permitted to use such a name in future. From the effective date of
that Act, a person may not carry on business in any name other
than that person’s full name (as reflected in his/her identity
book, in the case of a natural person) or, in the case of a
juristic person, its registered name. Provision will be made for
individuals or partnerships to register a business name. REMINDER “Snippets” is designed to
keep readers abreast of developments affecting their daily
business life. It contains important legislative changes of which
the reader should be aware. As it is not financially feasible for
us to communicate these changes to clients as and when they occur,
each month, a copy of this newsletter is posted on our website, www.accounting4.co.za.
Therefore, it is advisable for you to access this site on a
regular basis. Readers who do not have internet connectivity are
welcome to request us to post them a copy. TAILPIECE “Success
is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If
you love what you are doing you will be successful” – Albert
Schweitzer |