Some South African tax residents working abroad, often referred to as “expats”, are grumbling about changes to the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the Act) which comes into effect on 1 March 2020.
According to Joon Chong, a partner at Webber Wentzel, expats who may have previously benefitted from not paying employees’ tax in either South Africa or the foreign country where they worked, by virtue of the provisions of section 10 of the Act (the exemption provision), may be required to pay employees’ tax to SARS going forward.
“As South Africa has a residence-based system of taxation, a person is considered to be a South African tax resident where that person is either ordinarily resident in South Africa or is deemed to be tax resident by complying with the threshold requirements of the physical presence test,” she said.
“Practically, a person can be regarded as being ordinarily resident in a place where they are settled and live with some degree of continuity, apart from temporary or accidental absences.”
Chong said the exemption provision currently exempts from tax all foreign income earned by expats while working abroad where that expat:
Is not a government employee;
Was employed and working abroad (i.e. outside South Africa);
Was employed and worked abroad for a period of more than 183 days in aggregate and 60 days continuously, during any 12 month period.
Millions on the line
From 1 March 2020, the exemption provision will be limited to only the first R1 million of any foreign income earned by an expat.
All foreign income earned above this threshold may then be taxable in South Africa at the applicable marginal rate, where the foreign state in which that expat works imposes little or no tax on employment income, said Chong.
“By way of example, an expat earning the equivalent of R5 million abroad may now be subject to tax at 45% on up to R4 million (i.e. the balance after deducting the R1 million exemption from their remuneration). This equates to approximately R1.8 million in tax.”
Understandably, some expats are aggrieved by this change, said Chong.
“Concerns have also been raised that limiting this exemption may increase permanent emigrations from South Africa and have a negative impact on remittances to South Africa, particularly for those with lower incomes working abroad.
“National Treasury is, however, firm in its view that the R1 million threshold is already a compromise and that from a policy perspective the abuse of the exemption by some expats unfairly benefitting from ‘double non-taxation’ (i.e. not paying tax in either South Africa or the foreign country in which they work) must be stopped.”
Financial emigration
Chong said that it is important to remember that this amendment only applies to South African tax residents.
Individuals who are neither ordinarily resident nor deemed to be tax resident in South Africa can only be taxed in South Africa on any income they derive from a South African source, she said.
“Some advisers are now advocating that a ‘financial emigration’ is the panacea to the amendment to the exemption provision.
