Taxa7311 Mo
Taxa7311 Mo
Taxa7311 Mo
Taxation 3A
TAXA7311
MODULE OUTLINE 2022
(First Edition: 2019)
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Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3
Using this Module Outline ......................................................................................................................... 4
This Module on Learn ................................................................................................................................ 5
Icons Used on Learn ................................................................................................................................... 6
Module Resources ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Module Purpose ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Module Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Module Pacer ........................................................................................................................................... 13
Introduction
Welcome to Taxation 3A which is built on Taxation 2A. In this module, we will still be looking at
the taxation of corporate entities, however, this will be more in-depth and deal with more
complex issues. Understanding and applying the taxation principles contained in this module
opens up many doors in your career. Whether you choose to specialise in tax or not, this subject
is fundamental to being a well-rounded professional working in the corporate world. This is also
a very practical subject and can aid you in your personal life as well.
Students generally find this module difficult as they are introduced to several new concepts. The
content of this module is large, and students find great difficulty in studying towards the exam
as all topics are examinable and a lot of content needs to be covered in order to be adequately
prepared for the exam. Tests and ICE tasks will be given during the course of the semester in
order to assist you with keeping up to date with the syllabus, and to ensure that you are studying
the content on a regular basis, which will also assist with the end of semester exam preparation,
and will ease the volume that needs to be studied. Completing work at home and tackling
homework is essential for passing this module.
The focus of Taxation 2A was the basics of Income Tax and Value-Added Tax (VAT). Taxation 3A
requires a deeper understanding of both Income Tax and VAT as well as the ability to interpret
and apply more difficult sections. You will also be looking at other taxes such as Dividends Tax
and donations and how all these taxes integrate with each other.
The content and volume of this module is vast and, in some instances, very complex, but it can
be mastered with sufficient practice and application. The knowledge obtained from this module
will benefit you greatly in your Honours year (CTA) and the working world. Obtaining an
understanding of the content this year will ease the burden in your future studies.
The content of this module is on Learn as well as in the prescribed material. You will not
succeed in this module if you focus on this document alone.
Your lecturer will decide when activities are available/open for submission and when these
submissions or contributions are due. Ensure that you take note of announcements made
during lectures and/or posted in the Student Portal and within Learn in this regard.
- Your campus will provide you with details about when your assessments are due.
• A module overview;
• A list of prescribed material;
• A variety of additional online resources (articles, videos, audio, interactive graphics, etc.)
in each learning unit that will further help to explain theoretical concepts;
• Critical questions to guide you through the module’s objectives;
• Collaborative and individual activities (all of which are gradable) with time-on-task
estimates to assist you in managing your time around these;
• Revision questions, or references to revision questions, after each learning unit.
Kindly note:
• Unless you are completing this as a distance module, Learn does not replace your
contact time with your lecturers and/or tutors.
• TAXA7311 is a Learn module, and as such, you are required to engage extensively with
the content on the Learn platform. Effective use of this tool will provide you with
opportunities to discuss, debate, and consolidate your understanding of the content
presented in this module.
• You are expected to work through the learning units on Learn in your own time –
especially before class. Any contact sessions will therefore be used to raise and address
any questions or interesting points with your lecturer, and not to cover every aspect
of this module.
• Your lecturer will communicate submission dates for specific activities in class and/or
on Learn.
Icon Description
A list of what you should be able to do after working through the learning unit.
Sections where you get to grapple with the content/theory. This is mainly
presented in the form of questions which focus your attention and are aimed at
helping you to understand the content better. You will be presented with online
resources to work through (in addition to the textbook or manual references) and
find some of the answers to the questions posed.
REMEMBER:
Module Resources
Prescribed Material (PM) for SAICA, 2022. SAICA Student Handbook Volume 3.
this Module 2021/2022. LexisNexis.
ISBN: 9780639014050
Module Purpose
The purpose of this module is for students to critically examine complex tax rules and
regulations in order to calculate Value-Added Tax, taxable income and other taxes for
various corporate entities.
Module Outcomes
MO1 Analyse the VAT implications of a transaction.
Calculate normal Income Tax for a corporate entity, applying relevant tax rules
MO2
and regulations correctly.
Calculate the tax payable or refundable by the taxpayer for the year of
MO3
assessment.
MO4 Calculate different taxes for a specific year of assessment.
Assessments
Summative Examination
Weighting 50%
Duration 3 hours
Total marks 120
Open/Closed book Open book
Resources required None
Learning Units covered All
Textbook instructions
1. Students are permitted to bring only ONE printed version of the textbooks.
2. Only properly bound standard publishers’ editions are permissible. Photocopies, printed
copies of electronic versions, loose sections or isolated pages of texts are prohibited.
3. Students are permitted to highlight, underline, sideline and flag in the permitted texts.
Writing in the permitted texts is prohibited. Writing on flags is permitted for reference and
cross-referencing purposes only (name or number of the standard, statement or section).
4. Any contravention of these regulations will be dealt with as misconduct and shall be dealt
with in terms of the appropriate misconduct policy.
You will be expected to • Pay close attention to the instruction words (like list, apply,
respond to short, theory- describe, analyse, etc.) and to the mark allocations of each
based questions, as well as question to ensure that you provide the correct depth and
to three literary analysis detail in your answers.
essay-type questions). • Make sure that you are comfortable in responding to all the
objectives for all learning units.
• Brainstorm possible questions based on the learning
outcomes and objectives provided.
Module Pacer
Code Programme Contact Sessions Credits
TAXA7311 BAC312 48 + 5 Learn 12
Learning Unit 1 Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Overview:
In Taxation 2, you learnt the basics of VAT. In this learning unit, we will now be looking at VAT
in more detail. VAT is a separate tax and is levied in accordance with its own rules as per the
Value-Added Tax Act No. 89 of 1991.
You previously learnt how to calculate output and input tax as well as the amount that is owed
to/by SARS at the end of the VAT period. The payment made to SARS requires an
understanding of the administrative process, so you will need to know when a person should
register for VAT, the different payment categories that are available, when the return must be
submitted and paid, and whether or not an invoice is valid in order for input VAT to be claimed.
Accounting for the input and output tax is vital to your understanding of how it is treated in
the real world and thus you must be able to provide the necessary journal entries for any
transaction.
You also learnt how to determine the VAT treatment of a particular transaction, i.e., when
output tax is levied and when input tax can be claimed. This includes learning the special rules
such as the exempt and zero-rated supplies for output tax and the type of goods that will lead
to input vat being denied.
All the above was covered in Taxation 2A and is still important in this module.
In this learning unit, you will need a deeper knowledge and understanding of these concepts.
In addition to this, you will also learn what are deemed supplies and when output tax should
be levied on such supplies. With regards to input tax, you will have to determine when input
tax must be apportioned and be able to identify the scenarios when notional input tax can be
claimed on second hand good. And lastly, you will need to know how to account for
adjustments to both output and input tax when there is a change in use of goods.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend eight sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 4 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for this
learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
Activity Estimated
Time on Task
1.1.1 Calculate net VAT payable 60 minutes
1.2.1 The accounting basis and administration 60 minutes
1.3.1 Calculating output tax 90 minutes
1.4.1 Calculating input tax 30 minutes
1.5.1 Discuss the VAT treatment with change in use adjustments 120 minutes
Estimated total time for this learning unit’s activities 6 hours
Students generally struggle with this topic not only because of the volume, but also because
of the level of detail you are expected to know. There are many rules and exceptions to the
rules and this may become very confusing. It is imperative that you are able to distinguish
between output and input tax as well as understanding the difference between a zero rated
(taxable) and an exempt supply. Marks will not be awarded if these are incorrectly identified.
Overview:
We will now be looking at Income Tax in more detail. Income Tax is a separate tax and is levied
in accordance with its own rules as per the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962.
In this learning unit, you will need to identify a specific type of taxpayer and from that,
determine at what rate that taxpayer should be taxed. Taxpayers such as “small business
corporations” and “microbusinesses” have to meet certain requirements before they can
register as such taxpayers. You will need to know what these requirements are and apply them
in a practical scenario.
You will also need to know how to calculate taxable income and the tax liability for that
taxpayer per the framework. A microbusiness is taxed using the turnover tax method, which
requires you to know how to calculate “qualifying turnover” and “taxable turnover”.
This learning unit merely provides a foundation. The detail of how taxable income is calculated
(based on the framework and the relevant legislation) will be covered in separate learning
units. It should be noted that the integration between Income Tax and VAT will be much more
in-depth and complex from what you were exposed to in Taxation 2A.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend four sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 2 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for this
learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
While this module is not very difficult, students tend to struggle with the new concepts,
elements of the Income Tax framework and the tax liability framework are often confused,
which leads to many errors in their calculations. Students also confuse the rates applicable to
a particular taxpayer. It is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the terminology in
this study unit and thoroughly understand the frameworks as these will form the basis of what
you will cover over the rest of the semester.
Overview:
In Learning Unit 2, you learnt the framework of how to calculate taxable income. Learning
Units 3 to 6 will break down that framework into its individual components and deal with each
one separately.
The first component is “Income”. The Income Tax Act defines income as “gross income” less
exempt income (i.e. income items which are not taxed). “Gross income” is specifically defined
in section 1 of the Act and most exemptions available to taxpayers are contained is section 10
of the Act.
In this learning unit, we will be looking at what makes up gross income per definition and you
will learn to apply the various components of that definition (with related case law) to
determine if an amount is gross income. We will also look at certain scenarios when the
definition is overridden, and the amount is included because it is a special inclusion.
We will then move on to exempt income and you will learn to identify when an entire entity
or just a stream of income is exempt from tax. Please note that for both of these, we will only
be looking at what pertains to a business entity and thus this learning unit does not contain all
the specific inclusions and exemptions included in the Act. These will be covered later in your
studies.
Although the content of this learning unit is exactly the same as Taxation 2A, the application
of these rules will be more complex in this module.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend four sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 3 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for this
learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
This topic is usually tested in a theory or discussion type question and students generally
struggle with this. The principles of the “gross income” definition and the relevant case law
are easy to understand, but sometimes difficult to apply and discuss, especially those relating
to “capital in nature”. The only way to combat this is to practice questions.
It is important to note that because you will now be delving into a framework, each learning
unit builds on the one before and you must keep up to date. Missing lectures or falling behind
will inevitably lead to unnecessary confusion.
Overview:
You are now moving on to the next part of the taxable income framework: deductions. These
are all the costs that can be deducted from “income”. As a recap, the term “income” means
“Gross income” less exempt income and it is imperative that you understand that meaning for
this module. Not all costs incurred by a business can be claimed as a deduction for tax.
This learning unit guides you through how to assess which costs are deductible and which are
not by applying the definition of section 11(a) (general deduction formula) and the related
case law. You will also learn how to calculate certain specific deductions in accordance with
rules prescribed in the Income Tax Act. Lastly, you will learn how to identify costs or expenses
which are not allowed as a deduction (prohibited by section 23).
Although the content of this learning unit is similar Taxation 2A, there are a number of new
sections that need to be learnt and the application of these rules will be more complex in this
module.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend eight sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 3 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for this
learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
Similarly to the previous learning unit, students tend to struggle with the discussion and theory
type questions. Applying the criteria of the general deduction formula (section 11(a)) as well
as the relevant court cases prove to be quite challenging. Students also find it difficult to
remember the rules for each specific deduction. There are a lot of new sections which are
introduced in this learning unit and each one comes with its own rules. Students tend to
confuse these rules. However, if you practice consistently, you will find that applying these
rules become much easier.
Overview:
In Learning Unit 4, you learnt the criteria to deduct a cost incurred under section 11(a). One
of the requirements for deductibility was that the amount should not be capital in nature.
This, however, does not mean that SARS does not allow a taxpayer to deduct capital
expenditure. In Taxation 2A, you only learnt about the allowances that can be claimed on
assets that were purchased.
In this learning unit, you will learn about the capital allowances that can be claimed on assets
that are purchased (both moveable and immoveable) as well as those that are leased, and you
will learn how to calculate these allowances in accordance with the specific sections of the
Act. We will also look at calculating the tax effect of disposing of an asset, including whether
or not a recoupment can be deferred. And lastly, you will need to identify situations where
there are any limitations on the amount of capital allowances that may be claimed and any
limitations on losses that can be claimed on disposal.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend eight sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 5 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for
this learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
Every section has its own rules and provisos. This learning unit is done directly after deductions
where there was quite a few new sections to learn and in this learning unit, the volume
increases. You will start to feel overwhelmed at this stage with the various sections and rules.
It is confusing and daunting trying to remember all this information, but remember that an
easy way to combat this is to make sure you keep up to date and practice lots of questions.
Overview:
When a capital asset is disposed of, the implications are twofold. There is an Income Tax
implication and there is also a capital gains tax (CGT) implication. You learnt the Income Tax
implication (recoupment and scrapping allowance) in Learning Unit 5.
You will now be looking at the CGT implications. You will learn how to determine who needs
to pay CGT and when it needs to be paid. You will learn how to calculate proceeds and base
cost as well as the resulting capital gain or loss. As part of this, you will have to determine if
gains may be deferred or if losses claimed will be limited. From there, you will learn how to
calculate the taxable capital gain using the applicable inclusion rate for the taxpayer. You will
also need to determine the tax treatment (for both Income Tax and CGT) of debt reduction
and the sale of shares. Although the CGT calculation is quite complex, it is merely an additional
step that is added on the calculations you learnt in Learning Unit 5.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend eight sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 2 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for
this learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
The calculation of CGT is done in terms of its own unique framework and it is only the end
result that is included in the taxable income calculation. It also has its own definitions. While
there is a lot of volume, students tend to master this topic quite easily if they put in the initial
work in Learning Unit 6 as this topic built on the previous topic. Students, however, still tend
to struggle with the rules of a pre-valuation date asset and the rules for calculating the
valuation date value of an asset using paragraph 26 and 27 of the Eighth Schedule.
Overview:
In Learning unit 2, you were introduced to the taxation process. You also learnt how to
calculate the tax payable or refundable, which is the tax calculated per the specified rate of
that particular taxpayer less any prepaid taxes. There are two methods of prepaying over taxes
to SARS, namely provisional tax and employees’ tax.
Any taxpayer will need to prepay their taxes before the end of the year of assessment. The
true taxable income for that taxpayer has not yet been calculated for the year and thus will
need to be estimated.
In this learning unit, we will be looking exclusively at provisional tax, who is required to pay it,
when is it paid over and how the calculations for the first, second and third provisional
payment is performed. Employees’ tax will only be covered in Taxation 3B.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend four sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 2 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for
this learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
This is a relatively easy learning unit, however, students tend to confuse payment dates. The
second provisional payments prove to be the most challenging because of the choices that
need to be made to determine what to base the payment on. Once this is understood, the
calculations are simple and students master this topic quite easily.
Overview:
Donations Tax is similar to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) as both are taxes on the transfer of wealth.
When a resident donates property, it triggers Donations Tax. In this learning unit, you will learn
how to identify when a disposal of property is a donation and which scenarios will be seen as
deemed donations. You will need to determine in any specific or general exemptions apply to
a donation and from that information you must be able to calculate the Donations Tax payable
as well as determine who should pay the tax and when.
As a donation is seen as a disposal of an asset for CGT purposes, you will also have to know
how these two taxes interact with one another as a portion of the Donations Tax payable may
be added to base cost. You will be required to know how to calculate this portion.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend four sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 2 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for
this learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
This is a relatively easy learning unit as a standalone topic and students tend to master this
quite easily. However, it may become confusing when integrated with CGT. As long as students
understand each tax separately, it is easier to see how they link together.
Overview:
When we looked at Learning Unit 3, we saw that dividends received by a shareholder (also
known as a beneficial owner) are exempt from tax, but this does not mean that dividends
received are tax free. In this learning unit, you will learn how to identify if a distribution is a
dividend or contributed tax capital. Once a distribution has been made, you will need to
determine if the company is subject to Dividends Tax and whether or not the beneficial owner
is exempt from paying Dividends Tax. If Dividends Tax is payable on a distribution, you need
to know who has to pay it over to SARS.
You will also need to know how Dividends Tax interacts with Income Tax by calculating the tax
effect of a dividend distribution for both the company and the beneficial owner.
If you are a contact student, you will likely spend four sessions on this learning unit.
Please work through Themes 1 – 2 on Learn, together with the relevant sections of your
prescribed source/s. To ensure that you are working towards mastering the objectives for
this learning unit, please complete the following activities on Learn:
Once again, this is a relatively easy learning unit as a standalone topic. It may become tricky
when integrating it with Income Tax. If students understand Learning Unit 3 and 6, this should
not be a problem.