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COME HOME NEWSLETTER |
Number 55 - October 2008Dear Readers Welcome to the 55th edition of the Come Home Newsletter!CUSTOMS AND EXCISEWith the large number of people currently being recruited to work in Australia, we get desperate letters on a weekly basis from people who had gone to Australia, but now would like to return to South Africa as soon as possible. If this applies to you, REMEMBER: in terms of rebate item 407.06 of the Customs and Excise Act returning South African citizens are allowed to bring back the following items free of duty: household furniture, other household effects and other removable articles, including equipment necessary for the exercise of the calling trade or profession of the person other than industrial, commercial or agricultural plant and excluding motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and tobacco goods, the bona fide property of a natural person (including a returning resident of the republic after an absence of 6 months or more) and members of his or her family, imported for own use on change of his or her residence to the republic, provided that these goods are not disposed of within a period of 6 months from the date of entry. The items should also have been owned for at least 6 months before departure. Enquiries are welcome – send it to us at alana@afriforum.co.za. EMIGRATE OR NOT?Lately the debate on whether one should emigrate or not has been raging on in the Afrikaans media once again. We have a free booklet which offers advice on the psychological aspects of emigration which might come in handy if you are emigrating or even returning to SA after some time abroad. It was written by Dr. J.A. du Plessis – send an email to us at alana@afriforum.co.za with the subject “Booklet” to receive a free copy! USED VEHICLE EXPORTS TO SOUTH AFRICA
Some people say it is impossible to import a used vehicle into South Africa (if you are living here). Others say that it is difficult. Some will even say it is not worthwhile. Allow Springbok Imports to help you make a decision. We are the only business that specialises in obtaining import permits for vehicles imported into SA. We can also give you an honest opinion whether it is financially viable to import a car in terms of its value in SA! I was a SAFFA myself for two and a half years in the UK. When I returned to SA and wanted to bring my two Suzuki Samurai 4X4 jeeps, I found out that it seemed to be a mission impossible! After many prayers and stress, my two beloved jeeps at last arrived in Durban Harbour. After this experience, I have helped others to import their vehicles and that is how Springbok Imports came about. By the way, one of my Suzuki’s was sold for R58 000! In total it had cost me R30 000, including shipping it here. The other I will never sell, as it has too much sentimental value, and where will I be able to buy such a great, reliable “toy” in South Africa for only R30 000? If you are a guy who would like to release your beloved Mercedes Gelandewagen with which you toured all over the Outback in the Kalahari, you are welcome to contact us for assistance. Also if you are a girl who would like to relocate your VW Golf Cabriolet from London’s traffic jams to Pretoria’s traffic jams, please contact me! You are also most welcome to visit our web site at www.carshipping.co.za for more information and contact details. We are looking forward to hearing from you! REMEMBER: No left hand-drive vehicles may be imported to SA any longer. TRANSFER OF FOREIGN CURRENCYLawrence Jooste of Global Treasury Solutions (Pty) Ltd offers an excellent one-stop service for foreign currency transactions at extremely competitive rates. Contact him for a quotation and see for yourself. His rates are often way below those of commercial banks and he keeps track of the whole process, so you will always know exactly how far the process has progressed and how long it will still take. You are also welcome to address questions about foreign exchange transactions to him. A brief financial report by him follows below his contact details: Lawrence Jooste September was an extremely volatile month on currency markets, with the rand starting the month at 8.75 and dropping to a low of 8.40/$ at the end of the month. Liquidity problems on the global financial system is one of the main contributors to rand weakness. Investors withdrew cash from emerging markets in uncertain times to either invest in more stable economies such as the yen and the dollar. During September the gold price had its biggest jump in one day as it rose with almost $100 to $860-00. Gold has historically been an investment of choice in uncertain times. Inflation continues to climb locally with CPIX at 13.6% and PPI at 19.1%. LOOKING FOR A HOME TO RENTThe Diedericks family are urgently looking for a home to rent in Douglas, South Africa. Is anybody able to assist please? Their address is i.diedericks@btinternet.com. LOOKING FOR PROPERTY?Currently I am considering moving ... and have found a great web site to look for property. It combines a large number of national and local agencies’ properties and also includes and easy search function. There are also other facilities like a bond calculator, the opportunity to save your favourites and a free monthly newsletter to which you can subscribe. Visit: www.property24.com. TAX NEWSAs always, Fanus Jonck offers useful advice about tax matters. His contact details follow below his monthly contribution: Quite a number of South Africans living in South Africa and abroad have invested in a second property and receive a rental income. As a tax consultant, I am often asked: “Which expenses are deductible against property rental income in South Africa?” My answer to this question is: “Any expense incurred in the production of rental income is deductible if it is not of a capital nature and wholly and exclusively laid out for the purpose of the landlord’s trade.” The following expenses will be deductible:
If for example your wife is not earning much income, it might be a good planning tip for her to do all the administrative work regarding the property and to pay her a 10% fee if you do not use a letting agent. The tax that the family pays will be less if she falls in a lower tax bracket. Please remember that expenditure incurred by a landlord in relation to the property, before he can commence letting the property, does not qualify for deduction! One interesting dissent, however, is to be found in ITC 984, 25 SATC 59. The court allowed the deduction of a commission paid by a lessor to an agent as a reward for securing a tenant, even though this occurred prior to the completion of the building. The theory underlying the disallowance of pre-production expenditure is that the expenditure is more closely linked to the creation or the enhancement of the income-earning structure than to the operation of that structure. According to this line of reasoning, if a building is complete and ready for letting, but the lessor is simply unable to find a tenant, then his expenditure should rank for deduction in full. Expenditure, normally deductible by a lessor without question (rates, interest payments in respect of the mortgage bond and so forth) may be disallowed as deductions in three particular situations:
Repairs have to be distinguished from improvements, which is capital in nature and not deductible in the carrying of a rental trade. The test is: has a new asset been created resulting in an increase in the income-earning capacity, or does the work undertaken merely represent the cost of restoring the asset to a state in which it will earn income as it did before? In a particular court case the roof over kilns where a lot of heat was generated had been constructed of Baltic deal timber. The roof had to be replaced with a reinforced concrete roof. This was classified as a repair, not an improvement. By contrast, the cost of waterproofing a concrete roof by providing a protective covering has been disallowed as a deduction on the grounds that it was not a repair. Similarly, the strengthening of a retaining wall by inserting a concrete beam and supported by buttresses has been characterized as an improvement and not a repair. Adequate tax planning requires steps to be taken in advance to secure the optimum tax results. If the scope of the building operation warrants it, this would normally entail obtaining certificates from architects or engineers prior to building operations, separately identifying the repairs and the improvements and quantifying the cost of each separately. The taxpayer’s case would further be bolstered by taking photographs before the work starts and finally, by drawing up separate contracts in respect of repairs and improvements. If expenditure on repairs has to be made prior to letting the property, the safest course for the lessor is to defer the actual incurring of expenditure on repairs until a lease has been entered into or to pass the cost of repairs on to the lessee. You are welcome to contact the tax consultant, Fanus Jonck (tax@jonck.net) on +27-21-913-4164 for advice on property related and all other tax issues. OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLEPieter Oosthuizen writes: We have positions for Linux technicians, as well as graphic designers. Call me at +27-82-855-8164 for more information. POSITION IN PROPERTY MARKETHenriette Basson writes:
Hello We have positions available for experienced property marketing agents in our offices in the Franschhoek-Paarl Valley. CVs or applications of such candidates are most welcome. We would love to hear from returning South Africans – please contact me! Kind regards Henriette Basson, CRS(SA), CEA, MIRSA POSITIONS – ESPECIALLY IN CONSTRUCTIONFanie Coetzee who represents one of the major construction companies in South Africa, is still looking for senior people in the fields of construction and engineering. He is also willing to help people in other related fields to find employment as well. Contact him at fanie@oneworldhc.com. RELOCATION HELPContact the following agents for quotes to ship your goods back to South Africa:
NOSTALGIC MOMENTSThis probably is the most beautiful time of the year in Pretoria!
FAR HORISONSGeorge Sends this photo of the suspension bridge at Tete in Mozambique. He writes: “Here the Zambezi flows past the bridge with a width of a kilometre and an average depth of 5 to 7 metres – quite a lot of water, isn’t it? Hidden just behind the trees that you can see on the photo and right next to the bridge is an old fort which probably dates from the days of the slave trade. At that time, Tete was reached from the Indian Ocean by boat – a distance of just more than 400 kilometres as the crow flies.”
Thank you, George! DEVOTIONDanie of the web site www.egafrikaans.co.za e-mails a message for teenagers every Tuesday. Visit the web site to subscribe to this service and have a look to see which other services Danie offers. Here is one of the messages for teenagers: The Patience of Job Marijke van Tonder It does not matter how hard you try, something always happens to test your patience. Whether it is someone at school, or your parents at home, or just someone or something. When you mother drives 60 in a 120 zone when you are in a hurry, or someone irritates you the whole time after you have told them a hundred times already that you want to be left alone please, or you have to go to the bank on a Saturday and when you get there at nine in the morning, you already have to join a long queue! All of these things can make you feel that you want to “crack”, go wild and start throwing things around! This will however bring you nowhere; it will only leave you feeling more frustrated and irritated than you were before. Something which I have experienced time and again, is that when you are patient and do not allow you emotions to get the upper hand over you, the problems will disappear by themselves without you even getting angry and making everyone else around you feel uncomfortable. So next time when your mother drives slowly, lean back and enjoy the painting made by the Lord for us. If someone keeps on teasing you when you have told him or her to leave you alone, go somewhere where that person cannot find you, and if you get to the bank at nine and it is full of people already, or wherever else you feel that you cannot cope any longer, and will turn into the “don’t have patience” monster at any minute, pray to the Lord to give you peace of mind and to remind you that everything is possible with the power given to you by God! Prayer: Dear Jesus, teach me to be patient please! |
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Kind regards! Alana
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In September we first published this contribution by Johan Kriek. He provides a service about which we receive so many questions, that we are publishing Johan’s contribution once again. He writes:
