The Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2025 has been published and is currently open for consultation. As noted in the last South African Budget Speech, the proposal is to remove the tax exemption on Foreign Pensions where such pensions have been accrued because of services rendered abroad. What this means is that where an individual worked abroad and their employer

Overview A letter of wishes (LOW) is a private written document prepared by the Member of a Foreign Pension or the Settlor of a Discretionary Trust to provide guidance to Trustees on how they may exercise their powers. While not legally binding, it is a valuable interpretive tool, offering Trustees insight into the Member or Settlor’s intentions, values, and priorities

A lack of understanding and compliance with Category H (Retirement) income has left clients with significantly higher tax bills than they expected, irrespective of their classification as Non-Habitual Residents (NHR). This has arisen from the presumption that: i) all foreign pensions are seen as pensions in Portugal, and ii) the benefits paid by foreign pensions will be classified as retirement

Overview The decoupling of domicile for UK Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability has created new planning opportunities for British expatriates and their advisers. Many British expatriates retain substantial UK situs assets – an estimated £650 billion in residential property and £66 billion in individual savings accounts (ISAs) alone without considering the value held in self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) or other assets,

The decoupling of UK inheritance tax (IHT) from domicile provides UK expatriates and their advisers with a world of new planning opportunities to mitigate UK tax and probate, whilst significantly enhancing their clients’ financial position. Current research confirms the scope of the issue, as UK expatriates have been found to have extensive exposure to UK situs assets. For example, UK

A death benefit from a pension – including a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) or a Qualifying Non-UK Pension Scheme (QNUPS) – becomes subject to income tax in the hands of a UK beneficiary if the deceased member was over the age of 75. Moreover, the rate of tax can be as high as

One of the biggest challenges of modern times is sensationalism, when facts aremisrepresented to create attention-grabbing headlines or to promote self-interest. When such a situation occurs, it is vitally important to look beyond the headlines and tryto separate fact from fiction in order to see through the misconceptions that may havebeen created. Failing to set the record straight leaves people