Tax & Exchange Control

Our Tax & Exchange Control lawyers rank among the world’s best

Tax law in South Africa has been elevated to a highly specialised area of practice as a result of ongoing and annual changes to tax legislation, as well as developments in the courts and efforts internationally to reduce base erosion and profit shifting. Our tax lawyers rank among South Africa’s best and regularly receive recognition for their outstanding services.

The team, which has offices in Johannesburg and Stellenbosch, is able to respond swiftly and efficiently to client requests regarding South African and international tax and related legal matters. The team members have many years of experience in consulting to the commercial sector and to highnetworth families, providing integrated advice and assistance on a wide range of local and international tax issues.

We are networked internationally, not only formally through the LEX Africa legal network but also informally through our membership of the International Fiscal Association (IFA), Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), The International Academy of Estate and Trust (TIAETL), the International Bar Association (IBA) and other international professional organisations.

Unrivalled expertise, up-to-date tax advice

Our tax team is responsive to the vast changes to tax policy adopted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and implemented in domestic law and internationally. We are well versed in the implications of key initiatives such as the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures and Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (2017 MLI) and the various OECD transfer pricing initiatives.

The tax team’s focus is on assisting corporates and high-net-worth families who seek comprehensive, up-to-date tax advice and planning. The tax team’s services range from advising on and implementing the tax aspects of clients’ commercial dealings to interacting on their behalf with the tax authorities. This includes seeking rulings and other dispensations on their behalf, and dealing with disputes.

Each member of our tax team takes their continuous professional development seriously, thereby standing ready to assist clients based on the latest tax and exchange control law and practice.

Our special areas of expertise include:

• the income tax, capital gains tax, valueadded tax and other transaction tax aspects of commercial activities such as mergers and acquisitions, private equity and BEE empowerment transactions, employee incentive schemes, propertyrelated transactions and corporate re-organisations;
• international tax services related to inward and outward investment and offshore structuring, such as advice on double tax treaties (DTAs) and multilateral tax treaties, advice on transfer pricing, controlled foreign companies and debt structuring, and advice on setting up and running foreign private equity funds;
• the tax aspects of wealth, succession and estate planning for high-net-worth families (both domestically and internationally), such as advice on trust establishment and restructures, emigration and immigration, foreign pensions, charitable foundations and the drafting of wills and trust deeds;
• tax dispute resolution in the tax court and in the higher courts, where our tax specialist litigation lawyers deal with high-value disputes and provide innovative solutions for their resolution;
• the taxrelated aspects of family law litigation and dispute resolution involving trusts and foundations, including tax and exchange control advice and succession planning arising from divorce cases;
• tax compliance, including the review of tax return submissions and assisting with Voluntary Disclosure Programme (VDP) applications. We do not, however, provide tax eFiling services;
• exchange control advice and applications, including special approvals relating to merger and acquisition transactions and to foreign investment.

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