THE CONFLICT BETWEEN CERTAIN CAPITAL ALLOWANCES IN THE INCOME TAX ACT AND THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES POLICY OBJECTIVES

Through various incentives, special economic zones (SEZs) aim to promote industrial capacity development, create jobs and stimulate the South African economy. However, in practice, misalignment of tax legislation requirements with current practices may undermine the success of the SEZ programme. If property developers are unable to claim capital allowances for expenditure incurred on property developments within an SEZ, this acts as a disincentive to investment, which conflicts with the overarching rationale for the SEZ initiative. This study seeks to determine the extent to which current practices prevent property developers from claiming capital allowances for developments in SEZs, and to propose appropriate remedies. The study presents a doctrinal analysis of the requirements of the SEZ Act and relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act in the context of current practices in SEZ development. The analysis demonstrates that, where the ownership of land designated for SEZ development is retained by government, property developer lessees may be unable to claim capital allowances in respect of expenditure incurred on property developments. This study therefore motivates for the removal of the ownership requirement from building allowance provisions of the Income Tax Act. This would align tax legislation with current practice and the policy objectives of the SEZ programme, as well as address the current inconsistency in the requirements of building allowances

A synthesis of tree functional traits related to drought-induced mortality in forests across climatic zones

1. Forest dieback caused by drought-induced tree mortality has been observed world-wide. Forecasting which trees in which locations are vulnerable to drought-induced mortality is important to predict the consequences of drought on forest structure, biodiversity and ecosystem function. 2. In this paper, our central aim was to compile a synthesis of tree traits and associated abiotic variables that can be used to predict drought-induced mortality. We reviewed the literature that specifically links drought mortality to functional traits and site conditions (i.e. edaphic variables and biotic conditions), targeting studies that show clear use of tree traits in drought analysis. We separated the review into five climatic zones to determine global vs. regionally restricted relationships between traits and mortality. 3. Our synthesis identifies a number of traits that have clear relationships with drought-induced mortality (e.g. wood density at the species level and tree size and growth at the individual level). However, the lack of direct relationships between most traits and drought-induced mortality highlights areas where future research should focus to broaden our understanding. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our synthesis highlights established relationships between traits and drought-induced mortality, presents knowledge gaps for future research focus and suggests monitoring and research avenues for improving our understanding of drought-induced mortality. It is intended to assist ecologists and natural resource managers choose appropriate and measurable parameters for predicting local and regional scale tree mortality risk in different climatic zones within constraints of time and funding availability

Erratum to: Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition) (Autophagy, 12, 1, 1-222, 10.1080/15548627.2015.1100356

non present

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field