Page 63 - Nexia SAB&T Estate Planning Guide 2024

DAVIS TAX COMMITTEE

The Davis Tax Committee has been established to evaluate tax policy and legislation
in South Africa and to make recommendations to the legislator regarding possible
amendments and other related changes. To date the Davis Tax Committee has made
recommendations that will be continued to be considered by the legislator and might
in future be incorporated into the legislation, some of which include the following:
n That the estate duty deduction for assets bequeathed to the surviving spouse
be deleted, and that the primary rebate rather to be increased to R15 million,
thus ensuring the consistent equitable treatment of all taxpayers (the current
legislation results in the inconsistent treatment of married and single parent
families).
n The Davis Tax Committee has also recommended that the trust distribution
flow through principle be limited, and
n That the CGT rollover provisions relating to inter-spouse bequests should be
repealed and replaced with a generous CGT death exemption of R1 million.
n That all trust arrangements should be examined by SARS on registration of
trust arrangements and upon transfer of assets into trusts. This should reduce
aggressive tax planning and, at the same time, provide a level of assurance to
taxpayers that their affairs are indeed in order, and that
n Estate duty assessment procedures of SARS should concentrate on the
examination of any trusts in which the deceased may have enjoyed a vested
interest in order to ensure that all income and capital has been brought into
account for both income tax and estate duty purposes.

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