July 5, 2016
Tax Season Starts 1 July: Your Deadlines
SARS has published the new Tax Season deadlines for individuals.
Your important dates for filing your ITR12 Tax Return Form for the period 1 March 2015 to 29 February 2016 are –
July 5, 2016
Starting A Business? The Partnership Option
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” (Helen Keller)
So what exactly is a partnership? We talk loosely about our “partners” in various contexts, but it is important to understand how the law views the concept in a strictly business situation. In broad terms a partnership is an association of between 2 to 20 people/companies/trusts who agree to pool resources (such as money, property, services, skills etc – whatever is agreed upon) and to operate a jointly-owned business, trade or profession for profit. Partnership assets are jointly owned by the partners and profits are split between them as agreed.
July 5, 2016
Neighbours Behaving Badly: Nip Illegal Building In The Bud!
Bad neighbours don’t just impinge on your enjoyment of your property; they can also cause serious harm to its value. So if you notice illegal building activity next door, move quickly to nip the problem in the bud.
Your hand in this regard has just been strengthened. An important new decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) confirms that you aren’t limited to trying to compel the municipality to enforce its own building and zoning laws – you can apply for demolition directly.
July 5, 2016
Property sellers: just how far does your duty to disclose go?
“Where a seller recklessly tells half-truths or knows the facts, but does not reveal them because he or she has not bothered to consider the significance, this may also amount to fraud” (extract from judgment)
Firstly, a note on the CPA
What is said below does not pertain to those property sales where the very robust buyer protections in the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) apply. Generally speaking the CPA applies only where the seller is selling “in the ordinary course of business” (a developer for example), and most private sales will fall outside its ambit. That whole question is however a big topic on its own so watch this space for a future article on “Voetstoots v CPA”.