For small and medium-sized businesses, artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a practical way to save time on everyday work. From drafting proposals and analysing information to managing meetings, marketing and administration, the right AI tools can help SMEs operate more efficiently without immediately expanding their teams.
South Africa’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) is due in October, providing an important update on government’s fiscal position and its priorities for the next three years. For businesses and investors, the key issues to watch will be government debt, infrastructure investment, municipal reform and emerging tax policy signals.
South Africa’s VAT system could be heading for a significant digital overhaul. In August 2026, SARS released its VAT Modernisation Consultation Paper, setting out proposals for a more automated VAT system built around e-Invoicing, digital reporting and the near real-time exchange of transaction data.
With the 2026 Trust Filing Season having opened on 19 September, trustees are operating in an increasingly data-driven compliance environment. This year’s filing season coincides with enhanced third-party reporting requirements and stronger enforcement by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Small businesses can't match the paychecks that big corporations dangle in front of job candidates, but they don't always have to.
07 September: PAYE submissions and payments
Anyone leaving or entering South Africa faces a new SARS requirement: an online declaration of goods, cash and other items before crossing the border.
Automation once promised a cleaner, leaner future with lower costs, faster service and fewer repetitive tasks. Yet some businesses are now reversing course and humans are being returned to jobs only recently given to software.
Most business owners think their personal will has the business covered too, but that's usually not the case.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has taken another significant step towards modernising VAT administration, releasing its VAT Modernisation Consultation Paper for public comment.
SARS has released the August 2026 edition of its SMME Connect newsletter, highlighting a number of important tax compliance issues and recent changes affecting small and medium-sized businesses.
South Africa has taken an important step towards formalising sustainability-related corporate reporting, with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) establishing a new National Adoption Readiness Working Group on Sustainability Reporting.
Operation Vulindlela’s latest Phase II progress report points to tangible gains across South Africa’s major structural reform priorities, from electricity and rail to water, visas and digital government.
Running a business in South Africa is a challenge. Quite apart from the political and economic conditions, every business must also comply with a web of governance, regulatory, tax, and labour law requirements. It’s a massive cost burden, but failing to comply can mean penalties, lost business opportunities, and even deregistration.
As cloud-based software delivery has lowered the barrier to adoption, many companies are starting to lose track of the number of software subscriptions they have. This phenomenon is known as “SaaS creep” (SaaS stands for Software as a Service) and research suggests that the problem is considerably larger than most leaders recognise.
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission has issued new guidance on remuneration governance and beneficial-ownership compliance.
National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service have released two draft bills containing the tax measures announced in South Africa’s 2026 Budget. The proposed legislation is open for public comment until 28 August 2026.
South Africa recorded stronger national government revenue during the first three months of the 2026/27 financial year, while new multilateral financing has helped government meet its foreign-currency borrowing needs on favourable terms.
Last month, we reported on SARS’s broader move towards digital customs administration, including the introduction of online declarations for foreign-registered vehicles and the rollout of the South African Traveller Management System. From 1 July 2026, the next phase of that reform is now in effect: almost everyone entering or leaving South Africa must submit an online traveller declaration before travelling.
SARS is increasingly extending its digital compliance approach beyond income tax and into customs, travel and cross-border trade. Recent changes suggest that border compliance is becoming more data-driven, more immediate and less tolerant of gaps in documentation.
For the 2026 filing season, taxpayers selected for auto-assessment will receive notices between 1 and 12 July, before the broader filing period opens for non-provisional taxpayers on 13 July. The aim is to reduce the burden on taxpayers by using information SARS already receives from employers, banks, medical schemes, retirement funds and insurers.
CIPC has moved further away from email-based submissions, making its Case Management System the mandatory channel for several important processes. This is a practical change for companies, directors, practitioners and advisers who still rely on legacy email addresses when dealing with CIPC.
05 June: PAYE submissions and payments
