Professional development essential in tax environment

The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) says some of the amendments of the draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill will have a direct impact on the tax practitioners, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), who need to be in a position to respond effectively through professional development.
 
Faith Ngwenya, Technical Executive at SAIPA, believes it is critical that any practitioner keeps both skills and knowledge up to date to ensure relevance and ability.
 
“These regulatory changes are one of many challenges facing the tax industry and the professionals in the field. Any credible tax professional has to be aware of what is happening in the industry and needs to understand the trends and challenges which could impact the way they work and we see it as our role as SAIPA to empower practitioners with this cutting edge analysis,” Ngwenya emphasises.
 
SMEs
Currently the proposed amendments to the Bill are particularly relevant to the tax practitioner, especially for those who work within the SME sector. The proposed inclusion of personal liabilities companies into the small business corporation section of the Act will have a marked impact on the industry.
 
The Companies Act 71 of 2008 replaced the incorporated companies (Inc) with personal liability companies and Section 1 of the Companies Act defined a private company as a profit company that is not a public, personal liability or state owned company.
 
The exclusion of the personal liability company in the definition of a private company resulted in its exclusion from the income list of entities included in the definition of Small Business Corporation Tax, explains Ngwenya. “This has negatively impacted the many small businesses registered as personal liability entities from benefitting from the SME favourable provisions of the Small Business Corporations.”
 
SAIPA is working with the government and proposing that personal liabilities companies be included on the SBC list and further motivating for National Treasury to consider backdating the proposed change to the inception of the Act. This is but one of the topics that will be discussed at the upcoming Tax Indaba.
 
Tax Indaba
The Tax Indaba will be running from 5-9 September at the Vodaworld Conference Centre in Midrand. Topics include, among others: the tax policy discussion led by Michael Katz and Judge Dennis Davis, a panel on balancing government enforcement against taxpayer rights, the challenges facing small service companies and the changes to the Tax Ombud.
 
The keynote address will be done by the South African Revenue Service' (SARS') Commissioner Tom Moyane.
 
Furthermore, the issues around the Bill will be discussed alongside other challenges, which affect the practitioner’s day-to-day dealings with clients.
 
“These are some of the reasons why it is so important that practitioners are constantly updating their skills and staying up to date with industry insight. You need to track workshops and conferences and find the time to attend. It is at these events where pertinent and topical issues are discussed and practitioners have a chance to speak with other professionals,” Ngwenya urges.
 
“Not only can you upgrade your skills, but you can compare notes and engage with other people. It’s nice to discover that you are not alone when it comes to the problems you face as a professional or as a practioner. The cherry on top of attending this conference will be the structured CPD points that may be accumulated by participating, these will be electronically tracked throughout the conference,” she adds.
 
Attendees can gain insight into tax dispute resolution, how to approach a SARS payroll audit and estate planning for savings and small business.
 
For a complete programme of events visit http://taxindaba.co.za/

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 222 9198, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants group
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants

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