Walkers Attorneys

With the new school year starting, all parents should keep in mind that by law, all children of compulsory school age (five to 15), must receive a suitable full-time education.  As a parent, you have a legal responsibility to make sure that this happens.   read more

Tax Matters

by Andrew Duncan

by Amien Hoosain

Some lawyers argue that the Consumer Protection Act cannot apply to lease agreements, as that would be absurd. Well, it is certainly true that applying the Act to leases is absurd, but the intention of the legislature is clear from the language of the Act: it applies to leases.

For example, the Act stipulates that a consumer (read tenant) may cancel a fixed term consumer agreement (read lease) at any time on 20 business days’ notice to the supplier (read landlord), subject to a “reasonable” cancellation penalty. Furthermore, a fixed term consumer agreement may not exceed the prescribed maximum period of 24 months.

by By Andrew Duncan

Treasury announced with evident satisfaction last month that South Africa had joined 12 other countries in signing a Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters at the G20 Summit in Cannes, France. The Convention, said the Minister, seeks to promote international co-operation between revenue administrations “in the assessment and collection of taxes” and in “combating tax avoidance and evasion”.

What is actually going on is that trillions of dollars are being hidden away in offshore financial centres, and the major economies are not getting the benefit of tax.