Die aftrekbaarheid van werknemerverwante voorwaardelike aanspreeklikhede, met spesifieke verwysing na die verkoop of beeindiging van 'n besigheid

Thesis (MAcc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die belastingaftrekbaarheid van werknemerverwante voorwaardelike aanspreeklik-hede, met spesifieke verwysing na die verkoop of beëindiging van ʼn besigheid, is in meegaande studie ondersoek. Dit word bevind dat in die geval van die beëindiging van ‘n besigheid, alle voorwaardelike aanspreeklikhede op datum van beëindiging van die besigheid, waarskynlik nooit vervul kan word nie, spesifiek in geval waar dit gekoppel is aan die vereiste dat ʼn werknemer op ʼn toekomstige datum steeds in diens moet wees van die besigheid. Die voorwaardelike verpligting word dus nooit vervul nie en geen betalings hoef aan voormalige werknemers gemaak te word nie. Geen aftrekking aan die voormalige werkgewer word dus toegestaan in gevalle waar verlof- of bonusbetalings gemaak word na beëindiging van die besigheid, indien die verpligting nie reeds onvoorwaardelik bestaan het voordat die beëindiging van die besigheid plaasgevind het nie. Dit word verder bevind dat in die geval waar ʼn besigheid gelikwideer word, die voormalige en voornemende werkgewer se verpligting teenoor die werknemers se voorwaardelike aanspreeklikhede verval. Verder is dit ook waarskynlik dat geen belastingaftrekking toegestaan sal word nie, omrede die voorwaardelike aanspreeklikheid nie vervul is op datum van likwidasie nie. Dit word verder bevind dat in die geval waar ʼn besigheid as lopende saak verkoop word, die voornemende werkgewer ingevolge Artikel 197 van die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge verplig word om alle dienskontrakte, tesame met alle regte en verpligtinge wat bestaan tydens die oordrag, oor te neem asof hy in wese in die skoene tree van die voormalige werkgewer. Voorts word die voormalige werkgewer ook gebind aan die betaling van bedrae, soos deur die verkoopskontrak bepaal, of andersins in gevalle waar die voornemende werkgewer nie die verpligting om te betaal, kan nakom nie. Beide die voormalige en voornemende werkgewer bly dus wetlik aanspreeklik vir die betaling van bedrae soos uitgestippel in die verkoopskontrak, in gevalle waar ‘n besigheid as lopende saak verkoop word. Dit word verder bevind dat die Inkomstebelastingwet ‘n belastingaftrekking moet toestaan aan die voormalige of voornemende werkgewer wat ‘n werknemerverwante-betaling maak uit hoofde van die wette soos neergelê deur die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge. Sodoende sal die Inkomstebelastingwet die oogmerke van die Wet op Arbeidsverhoudinge onderskraag, met gevolglike voordelige uitwerking op die ekonomie en beskerming van werknemers se werksekuriteit.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the tax deductibility of employee-related contingent liabilities, with specific reference to the sale or discontinuation of a business. It is concluded that in the case of the discontinuation of business activities, all contingent liabilities at the date of discontinuation (with the specific requirement that employees will still be employed by the business at a future date) will probably never be fulfilled. The contingent liability is thus never fulfilled and no payments need be made to the former employees. No tax deduction is therefore granted to the former employer where leave or bonus payments were made after the discontinuance of business activities, if the liability did not unconditionally exist prior to the discontinuance of the business. It is further concluded that in the case of the liquidation of a business, the former and prospective employers are released from any obligation towards the contingent liabilities of the employees. Furthermore it is also unlikely that any tax deduction will be granted, due to the contingent liability being unfulfilled at the date of liquidation. It is further concluded that in the case where a business is sold as a going concern, the prospective employer is obliged to take over all existing employee contracts as well as all rights and obligations existing at the time of transfer, in terms of Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act. The former employer is also bound to the payment of amounts, as stipulated by the contract of sale, or otherwise in cases where the prospective employer cannot honour the liability to pay. Both former and prospective employers are legally liable for the payment of amounts as stipulated in the contract of sale, in cases where a business is sold as a going concern. It is further concluded that the Income Tax Act should allow a tax deduction to the former or prospective employer who makes an employee-related payment in terms of the Labour Relations Act. As a result the Income Tax Act will support the objectives of the Labour Relations Act, resulting in a positive effect on the economy as well as the protection of employees’ work security

Redefining home-school-community partnerships in South Africa in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic

Estimates suggest that approximately 12% of South Africans are HIV positive. As a result of the rapid increase of infections in the mid-1990s and th e con comitant increase in HIV/AIDS-related deaths, it is estimated that 13% of children have lost on e o r both parents due to AIDS . In this study data were obtained by open-ended written accounts by teachers and in-depth interviews with teache rs and school principals in a small sample of selected sch ools in KwaZulu-Natal. Findings indicated that in severely affected communities, teachers were often compelled to assume roles traditionally filled by parents. AIDS awareness programmes formed part of the sch ools’ cu rriculum . However, m any schools did not consider inv olv ing grandparents, othe r care-giv ers and community mem bers in the physical, emotional and cognitive support needed by learners because teachers lacked training and schools lacked a policy of parent and community involvemen t in education of learners

Home-school communication in South African primary schools

Home-school communication is one of the most traditional and vital forms of parent involvement but it is often poorly implemented. According to Epstein's model of parent involvement, home-school communication should be two-way communication and reflect a co-equal partnership between families and schools. In this article we examine school practices of home-school communication in South African primary schools using quantitative data derived from a survey of primary schools and qualitative data derived from interviews held with a small sample of primary school principals who also participated in the survey. The aims in this research endeavour were twofold: to explore the nature, frequency and effectiveness of home-school communication practices, and to make recommendations how home-school communication can be improved to facilitate better home-school partnerships. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(3) 2004: 183-18

A review of ethnobotanical research in southern Africa

The diversity of plant species in southern Africa is matched by an equally rich cultural diversity, but traditional uses of plants have not yet been systematically recorded. Available information is fragmentary and widely dispersed in many different journals and books. A survey by Liengme (1983a) has shown several gaps in the scientific literature and some progress has been made towards a more complete record of indigenous plant use in the region. Information on some ethnic groups, such as the Khoi, Ndebele and Swazi, as well as the interaction between plants and people, folk taxonomies, plant-related mythology, ethnoveterinary medicine and pre-colonial plant use are some of the aspects that still remain poorly recorded. In contrast, ethnopharmacology — particularly the testing of biological activity of crude extracts and isolated compounds — has received considerable attention in recent years. The aim of these studies is usually to validate traditional uses rather than to provide information for product development. A review of the literature on various categories of plant use, including recent publications and some hitherto unpublished research, is presented. Ethnobotany remains an underdeveloped discipline in southern Africa and there is an urgent need to systematically document indigenous knowledge on traditional plant use before it becomes irretrievably lost to future generations

Problem based learning at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine

A problem-based learning curriculum was phased in to replace our traditional lecture-based curriculum in 2001. True integration, both vertically and horizontally of the basic sciences and clinical disciplines, is reflected in each unit of learning in the first three years. The teaching programme is centrally coordinated and students work in small groups while guided by clinical and non-clinical facilitators. In the last two years, teaching and learning becomes more clinical as students rotate through the clinical disciplines. Both formative and summative assessment (including OSCE and OSPE) is used. Students have to pass each independent, clinical assessment in their final year. This paper highlights the problems and solutions of our transition to PBL. We advocate that staff and students should collaborate in the review to allow resource poor countries to find a model suitable for their unique conditions. Our programme combines the advantages of both the PBL and the traditional pedagogies

A new species of Lotononis section Oxydium (Fabaceae, Crotalarieae)

AbstractA new species, Lotononis macroloba B-E. Van Wyk and H. Kolberg, is described. It is similar to L. rabenaviana Dinter and Harms but differs in its greatly expanded sepals, larger leaves with short petioles, differently shaped petals and the silky rather than strigillose vestiture. The new species appears to be endemic to north-western Namibia, while the putative relatives, L. rabenaviana and L. sparsiflora (E. Mey.) B-E. Van Wyk, are restricted to the southern parts of Namibia and the adjoining dry western region of South Africa

Characteristics of local groundwater recharge cycles in South African semi-arid hard rock terrains – rainwater input

Rainfall events in semi-arid regions of South Africa are characteristically erratic in terms of depths and recurrence rates. Chemical assessment of cyclic rainwater has recognised 3 intervals, spaced over the hydrological cycle, reporting diverse hydrochemical compositions of rainwater in winter and summer rainfall regions. Winter rainwater is generated over thesouth Atlantic maritime waters. This rainwater contains noticeably higher concentrations of oceanic aerosols (NaCl) than the summer rainwater generated in the Intertropical Convergence Zone/equatorial western Indian Ocean. Sporadic addition of terrigenous dust generated over the continent substantially elevates concentrations of non-oceanic nitrogenous andsulphurous aerosols in the summer rainwater. Prominent seasonal variations in the rainwater hydrochemistry signature coincide with cyclic rainfall depths, characteristic of the semi-arid climate. Macro-element concentrations during the summer dry period, April to September, are relatively high in relation to those recorded for the wet cycle, October to March. However, the latter period reports a noticeably depleted hydrochemical rainwater input into the local groundwater budgetduring the peak rainfall period (January to March). The October-December (early) period represents a phase between a dusty, dry winter atmosphere and a relatively flushed atmosphere in December, after the first regional rainfall manifests around middle September. Individual early rainfalls contain even higher hydrochemical concentrations than the previousdry period, which subsequently diffuses as the airborne moisture content increases towards the peak rainfall period starting in January. Continuous rainfall event monitoring in the summer semi-arid regions identified short-term wet cycles containing extraordinary high rainfall events, referred to as episodic events. These wet cycles are highly erratic in time and maylast from 3 to 8 consecutive days with a recurrence rate of 1 in 5 years. The rainwater hydrochemistry signature differs significantly from the normal rainfall composition and represents a unique opportunity for tracing the infiltrating rainwater. For example, chloride concentrations from individual, high rainfall events (40 to 150 mm) may be as low as 0.4 mgE.-1, whereas the background value varies around 0.8 mgE.-1. Environmental chloride represents a conservative tracer for estimatingthe migration between rainwater and groundwater recharge. The concentration levels are not constant throughout the year and may lead to erroneous assumptions when performing groundwater recharge estimations using accumulated rainwater samples and uncontrolled groundwater sampling techniques