In South Africa, the draft Amendments to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act were published by National Treasury earlier this month. These amendments will allow retirement funds to invest up to 45% of their assets in infrastructure. This is set to open a huge potential source of funding for domestic infrastructure projects, but there has been some debate around whether this will be enough to help bridge the country’s infrastructure gap.
In brief The Minister of Home Affairs in South Africa has extended the validity period of legally issued visas, which…
The COVID-19 pandemic has not gone away and the prolonged business issues will continue to affect various market…
The COVID-19 pandemic has not gone away and the prolonged business issues will continue to affect various market players in the short and long-term. As anticipated, this has resulted to a rise in increasingly complex disputes across all industries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as well…
The UAE Federal Supreme Court recently dismissed an appeal filed by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) against taxes and administrative fines and penalties imposed by the FTA against a UAE company, a Dubai-based beverage distributor, in connection with excise taxes. Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla represented the company. The court also ordered that the FTA repay the full amount of the penalties to the company. This was considered to be the first time the Federal Supreme Court issued a judgment in favor of a taxpayer and removed all taxes and administrative penalties levied by the FTA.
In terms of both market value and volume, South Africa is reported to be one of the top two markets for cryptocurrencies in Africa, alongside Nigeria. It was therefore only a matter of time before the South African Revenue Service joined the likes of the Internal Revenue Service in the United States and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs in the United Kingdom in cracking down on cryptocurrency traders and establishing appropriate tax frameworks.
South Africa recently approved a tax on exported chrome, with further details still to be announced. The ferrochrome ore industry has been severely threatened in recent years, mostly due to increases in electricity tariffs. Some industry stakeholders have suggested that a special electricity tariff would be a better way to support the ailing industry, others have stated that the challenges mean they would not be able to sustain themselves, even after tax relief. And others have welcomed the reprieve that an export tax would provide. As a result, key industry stakeholders have expressed interest in collectively undertaking research to explore a more viable and consolidated approach to support the industry, but there have been difficulties from a competition law perspective.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated (and for some, cemented) the work from home trend. As a result, many employers are increasingly turning to employee monitoring technology to replace the physical employee oversight once enjoyed in the office. While employers have many legitimate reasons for monitoring employee activity, the decision to monitor employees is not without its legal and ethical complexities.
On Wednesday, 24 February 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority was ordered to halt its investigation into a trader involved in the European Cum-Ex dividend scandal pending the outcome of the separate case brought by the Danish tax authorities in the UK.
Judge Jonathan Swift said in his ruling (available here) that the FCA must stop its disciplinary investigation into the trader until the Danish tax authorities’ High Court case first resolves a number of legal issues, which is expected to be around the beginning of 2022.
Deal making activity in sub-Saharan Africa dropped in terms of both volume and value in 2020, compared to 2019. As the continent readies itself for post-pandemic recovery, the opportunities presented by free trade across Africa as well as the post-pandemic focus on technology, healthcare and renewable energy, will be key…