Innehållsförteckning för 2024-01-16 från Cape Argus

STARTING a business can be an overwhelming process as there are many factors to consider. One of these is the tax treatment of your business, which depends on the structure of your business and the type of entity you establish. In this article, we look at these different types of entities, how they are taxed, and the qualifying criteria for the tax treatment of small businesses. Sole proprietor A sole proprietor is the simplest form of ownership. It is simple to establish, there are very few legal requirements to get started and the owner has the freedom to make all business decisions without needing to consider any other stakeholders. In this case, there is no separate legal entity, and all business income is declared in the owner’s personal tax return.…

Conmen caught on camera in Green Point In a new modus operandi targeted at fleecing unsuspecting tourists to the Atlantic Seaboard, two suspects were caught on CCTV attempting to scam the visitors by forcing them to tap their credit cards in order to “access” certain roads in Green Point. The crime, which also took place in Mouille Point two months ago, is the latest trick by conmen in the area, Sea Point City Improvement District chairperson Jacques Weber said. This comes as ATMs are more heavily guarded than in the past, leading swindlers to instead target tourists walking along public streets. In the latest incident, caught on camera, the WatchTower Group’s smart detection CCTV system flagged the suspects in Somerset Road last Wednesday, wearing security-branded clothing. They falsely claimed to…

As authorities continued their fight against abalone poaching, an alleged poacher was arrested in Simon’s Town. The man was held yesterday morning during a counter-poaching operation by SANParks Seam Team, Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) Sea, Air, and Mountain special operations rangers. SANParks spokesperson, Lauren Clayton said that the suspect was arrested after a high-speed chase followed between suspects and authorities. “The Seam team pursued a vehicle of suspected abalone poachers in a high-speed car chase, which ended with the suspects crashing their vehicle. She said: “Four suspects emerged and ran away in different directions. Seam pursued one suspect on foot, while other members secured the vehicle.” Three of the suspects escaped but the one who was subsequently arrested was apprehended by the highly skilled K9. In the vehicle, authorities…

Former president Jacob Zuma has indicated that he may run for the presidency again, suggesting he wanted to “come back and fix things” in the country. This time, he will campaign under the MK party flag. uMkhonto weSizwe was the armed wing of the ANC until it was disbanded in 1993, but the name was resurrected by Zuma for his political movement. Zuma made the remarks while addressing a large gathering of the Nazareth Baptist Church, popularly known as the Shembe Church in Ndwendwe, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), on Saturday. During the prayer service, the former president said his removal from office was rushed as he was on the brink of changing South Africans’ lives. Zuma said his comeback was motivated by the behaviour of the current leadership of the ruling…

Former public protector, and now a Member of Parliament, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has accused the National Assembly of failing to respond to her letter of demand for her pension and R10 million gratuity payment. Mkhwebane says efforts to deny her the gratuity will not succeed as she will be taking the matter up in the courts. This comes after she was removed from office before her term ended, resulting in a possibility of not being eligible for the payment. Mkhwebane is ready to go to court to get her pension and other benefits she believes she is entitled to. According to a weekly paper, she has instructed her lawyers to begin court proceedings against the Office of the Public Protector and Parliament. On Sunday, Mkhwebane also confirmed her intentions…

The continued defacing of rocks, trees, fences and buildings along hiking trails on Table Mountain has spurred a group into action to preserve the natural beauty of the national park. The Graffiti Clean-up Rapid Response Group, put together by Friends of Lion’s Head and Signal Hill, said they now needed volunteers to join them, and help curb incidents of graffiti. Committee member Kosta Papageorgiou, who has scaled Lion’s Head more than 500 times, said each time he climbed along Table Mountain, he would notice new graffiti. He said the response group’s purpose was to create a communication channel for people living nearby Lion’s Head and Signal Hill who are passionate about keeping the trails and mountains clean and as natural as possible. “Acts of graffiti are happening across Table Mountain,…

THE Bitcoin price has been rallying, and this positively impacts the prices of many of the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has rebounded over 170% this year, beating most investments. What is cryptocurrency? The simplest explanation is that cryptocurrency is a digital asset (something that has value and only exists digitally). With cryptocurrency, you only need an internet connection and a computer or smartphone to be able to send or receive money from anyone, so it’s the world’s first globally accessible type of money. Cryptocurrencies are a true paradigm shift. They enable us to reimagine the financial system, to upgrade the world to something better: money that can be moved around cheaper, faster, and safer, cutting out unnecessary intermediaries and ensuring that consumers benefit instead. Bitcoin functions as a payment system, similar to…

Gugulethu residents were shocked to wake up to find a man’s body stuffed in a drain. A passer-by noticed the man’s hands and feet sticking out of the manhole at the corner of NY 81 and NY 83. The assailants closed the drain after shoving the victim’s body down the drain. Community members said the grim discovery was made at around 5am yesterday. “I was preparing to go to work when I heard someone shouting outside, but I told myself I wasn’t going to investigate because it was still too early and I was scared. “I only went outside when I saw there were a lot of people around the body,” a resident said. “The body must have been dumped there before the discovery because the blood looked fresh. It…

DA wins back its Umdoni Exco seat via court ruling The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has hailed the Durban High Court ruling that reinstated its Umdoni Local Municipality councillor back to the executive committee. In a ruling yesterday, Judge ZP Nkosi ordered the reinstatement of an Exco seat to the DA. The party had gone to court last year after the ANC-led municipality on the South Coast took away the seat from the DA and gave it to the ANC. The DA argued that the seat legally belonged to it. The ANC did not agree but the court set aside the municipality’s decision and ordered the municipal manager and speaker to give the seat back to the DA. The handing down of judgment was attended by DA provincial leader Dean Macpherson,…

Anticipation is building as the matric class of 2023 eagerly await their results, which are to be made available at schools and online from 11am on Friday. More than 76 900 candidates wrote the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams in the province last year. Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier said the department was looking forward to celebrating the 2023 matric results with the candidates. “This class had many challenges to overcome in the run-up to their matric exams, including years of disrupted schooling due to Covid-19, and the stress caused by load shedding, taxi strikes and floods during the 2023 school year. “Despite this, they have worked extremely hard to prepare, and we are hoping for some excellent results this year.” Maynier also thanked the teachers and parents…

Residents who live along the NY 3A canal in Gugulethu experience sleepless nights due to the infestation of mosquitoes that have terrorised the area, posing a serious threat to their health. Residents blame the infestation of mosquitoes on the Lotus River Canal, which is used by many as a dumping site. Some locals from this area throw into the canal items such as diapers, leftover food, and all sorts of waste, which some believe attract mosquitoes during this time of the year. One resident, Lina Ngqobeni, who lives at NY21 near the canal, says for days she has been struggling to sleep as the blood-sucking insects keep buzzing around her ears, biting and leaving sore blisters. “Our area has been taken over by mosquitoes since the start of this summer.…

Kevin de Bruyne’s explosive return to Premier League action inspired Manchester City to a dramatic 3-2 win at Newcastle and sent a warning to the defending champions’ title rivals. City climbed to second and within two points of leaders Liverpool, who had the weekend off for their winter break. Aston Villa failed to take advantage and move joint top as they were held 0-0 in a bad-tempered clash at Everton. Honours were also even at Old Trafford as a 2-2 draw with Tottenham did little to aid Manchester United’s hopes of a top-four finish. Here, we look at three talking points from the Premier League weekend. City poised to pounce De Bruyne came off the bench to score and set up Oscar Bobb’s stoppage-time winner at St James’ Park on…

South African medical schemes increased their beneficiaries from 8.9 million in 2021 to 9 million in 2022 (about 1.1%). This is in line with South Africa’s annual population growth rate of roughly 1%, meaning that the proportion of the country’s population covered by medical schemes (15%) remains relatively static. In December 2023, the Council for Medical Schemes released its industry report for the year ending December 2022. It showed that the industry has maintained a relatively stable overall membership over the past decade, but the number of schemes continues to decline, mainly through mergers and acquisitions. In 2000 there were 144 medical schemes in South Africa; in 2022 this had halved to 72. Membership The two biggest schemes continue to be Discovery Health Medical Scheme (2.81 million members in December…

The man accused of swindling Umrah pilgrims out of more than R1.2 million is set to face the music in court this week. Shahied Davids, 58, is being investigated by the Commercial Crimes Unit after those left stranded last month opened criminal cases against him. Davids, who runs New Age SA Travel & Tours, was met by an angry crowd when he arrived at Cape Town International Airport on Sunday at 6pm, on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha. Videos of the mob tackling him and calling him a thief have gone viral on social media. Davids, who was dressed in a white prayer top, was whisked away by police for his own protection. The travel agent made headlines after more than 30 pilgrims reported that they had each…

The two Khayelitsha men accused of executing the murder of Bongeka Bidi, a City of Cape Town official, intend to apply for bail. Hlalanathi Dimayi, 26, and Thembinkosi Mtuzula, 46, made a brief appearance in the Strand Magistrate’s Court yesterday, following their arrest. The duo were nabbed by officers of the Provincial Serious and Violence Crimes (Taxi Violence Unit) less than 24-hours after they allegedly committed the crime. Yesterday, they were back in court and now face charges of murder. They are alleged to be behind the murder of the 41-year-old Environmental Health official who was shot several times while parked in her silver Toyota Fortuner at the Strand municipal building. On the morning of January 8, a lone gunman walked up to her SUV and fired several shots through…

A woman, accused of killing her relatives to cash in on insurance payouts, will have to wait a little longer to find out if she will be granted bail. Agnes Setshwantsho is appearing in the North West’s Molopo Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder, fraud and defeating the ends of justice. Speaking to the SABC yesterday, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, said new information was presented in court. A submission was made to the court on the new evidence which the State had not prepared for, he said. Setshwantsho’s alleged murder spree, apparently for insurance payouts, came to an end after relatives alerted police. The murder charge stems from claims that she poisoned her niece, Bonolo Modiseemang, in August 2022. Mamothame said police were conducting further investigations…

The DA is not excited by the Higher Education Department’s new R3.8 billion National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funding model to finance the “missing middle”, saying it’s too early to be excited over it. Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said the issue of the “missing middle” students who struggle to get funding from NSFAS will soon be a thing of the past as he announced the implementation of the first phase of the Comprehensive Student Funding Model. The fund will see the funding of students who come from families who have a total income of more than R350 000 but not more than R600 000 per annum. Nzimande said this loan scheme would be administered by NSFAS, which has the legal mandate to offer student loans as…