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Income tax

The South African Revenue Service has reverted to its 2012 method of calculating school fees for parents/guardians of disabled children at special-needs schools who want to claim school fees as disability expenses, after changing the criteria for the 2020/21 tax year. The disability list has been amended accordingly and was published on the SARS website on October 29. Taxpayers affected by these changes are those whose disabled children attend a private special education needs school. Affected taxpayers who have already submitted a 2021 income tax return are requested to log into their efiling profile or visit their local SARS branch to request a correction or lodge an objection.

Life Claims

Discovery Group Risk reported claim payouts of R2.1 billion in the year to

June, a 42% increase on the previous year. A total of 8 840 claims were paid. Guy Chennells, the head of products for Discovery Employee Benefits, said: “Large shifts were observed in both the total number and value of claims paid, with the biggest increases within our death benefits. Covid-19 was the main cause of death across males and females, with the second highest being respiratory diseases for females and heart and artery conditions for males. Surprisingly, motor accidents accounted for most of the increase despite lockdown restrictions. The number of suicides also increased.”

Investigation

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) says it is investigating the activities of an online financial education platform, Mywealth Method, in light of media enquiries, complaints received, and public statements made by Mywealth Method, The authority says the purpose of the investigation is to establish whether the business activities of Mywealth Method are in breach of any financial sector law. It says the company is not authorised to render any financial advisory or intermediary services in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. My Wealth Method is also not registered as a bank in terms of the Banks Act.

Banking

Research from PWC finds environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have now become a make-or-break consideration for leading institutional investors globally. The PWC 2021 Global Investor ESG Survey, captured the views of 325 investors. Almost half of them

(49%) expressed willingness to divest from companies that aren’t taking sufficient action on ESG issues. More than half,

59%, also say lack of action on ESG issues makes it likely they would vote against an executive pay agreement, while a third say they have already taken this action. A large majority, 79%, say the way a company manages ESG risks and opportunities is an important factor in their investment decision making.