Author: The Free Stater

This week I am sharing an article prepared by high-level tax consultancy firm Core Tax. The company advises the government on new legislation and trains staff of SARS. The article is a bit long, but should be worth the read. Enjoy . . . Property developers build residential property with the main purpose of selling the completed residential units in the course of making taxable supplies. Where a property developer who is registered for VAT develops residential properties for sale, the developer is entitled to deduct the VAT incurred on the development costs as input tax and is obliged to…

Free State Education MEC Tate Makgoe has applauded the Central University of Technology (CUT) for building its second solar-powered vehicle as it gears to participate in the Sasol Solar Challenge next month, saying renewable energy is key to meeting the country’s growing demand for power. He said the exponential growth recorded in cities across the country has put a huge strain on Eskom as it battles to meet demand for electricity. “I think the most important thing is that, looking ahead, renewable energy will take the centre stage,” said Makgoe during last Friday’s launch of the CUT solar vehicle called…

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza this week convened an urgent meeting with Free State Premier Sisi Ntombela and several MECs to discuss the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on 22 properties in Marquard and Bethlehem in the eastern parts of the province. In a joint statement with the provincial government, the minister’s office said the meeting was aimed at soliciting the help of the Free State government and to explain the 21-day ban on movement of all hooved animals which was imposed last week. The ban will be reviewed on a weekly basis. “The minister feels…

Everyone knows that the Estate Agency Affairs Board has been a joke and its transformation into the Property Professionals Council is not likely to change that situation very soon. But the new Property Practitioners Act which came into effect on February 1, 2022, adds some heavyweight changes that could affect the industry severely. Firstly, developers will not be able to sell their own units without being registered with the board. Normally developers develop in different entities from their own businesses to keep each project isolated from a financial control point of view. Only staff directly employed by the development company…

A 36-year-old man who duped several people in the eastern Free State into putting money into a bogus investment scheme promising them handsome returns within a month appeared in the Ladybrand Magistrates Court this week facing several charges including fraud and money laundering. Moeketsi Ntshasa, 36, made his first court appearance after he was arrested by a multi-disciplinary police team in Gauteng on Monday. The Hawks provincial spokesperson Captain Christopher Singo said the arrest follows a notice put out by the unit’s Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bethlehem in May asking the public to assist in the tracing…

University of the Free State (UFS) student Jabulani Mabuza has literally taken a step back in time and developed his own brand of traditional wrist watches called Honour Watches. Mabuza is quoted by the university as saying his curiosity to understand how time is measured, also known as horological, pushed him to make his own time-piece. “What I enjoy about horology is learning the deeper technicalities of the art, the whole process – from understanding basic astronomy and how planets move in our solar system to sort of emulating that in a watch mechanism,” said Mabuza, a final year BCom…

Two women from Mangaung have allegedly been attacked and killed in two separate incidents by their own sons believed to be using drugs. In the latest incident which happened in Kagisanong along Masike Street at the weekend, a 65-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed with a sharp object by her 28-year-old son after she failed to give him money to buy drugs. Police spokesperson for Mangaung Metro Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane said in the woman died on the scene from the stab wounds. “The victim had visible multiple stab wounds on the head and body,” he said, adding the matter was…

Kaizer Chiefs coach Arthur Zwane says his players were not themselves against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday afternoon. Amakhosi came into the match oozing with confidence after thrashing Maritzburg United 3-0 on Tuesday, but they were thumped 4-0 by Masandawana in Pretoria. It is Chiefs’ heaviest defeat in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era which started in 1996 and Zwane was left disappointed by his charges’ performance. “Yeah, look we were nowhere near in terms of performing today. I think the boys looked flat. They didn’t come to the party,” Zwane told SuperSport TV. “We were just not ourselves. You look…

Ndavi Nokeri, a 23-year-old from Tzaneen in Limpopo, is the new Miss South Africa. She was crowned at a glitzy ceremony held on Saturday night at Time Square’s SunBet Arena in Pretoria, taking over the reins from now-Miss Supranational, Lalela Mswane. During the question-and-answer session, when asked what the most important thing is to keep the unity of our nation, the BCom Investment Management graduate said history is the greatest teacher. “To know where you are going, you need to know where you come from,” Nokeri said. “Being a nation that comes from a history of a past of racial…

I am going to rehash the importance of paying levies on time and in full because it remains a sticky matter. Times are tough with many people losing their jobs or having less income. From a body corporate management side, it is important that trustees and managing agents understand their very important roles in running any body corporate. Trustees and managing agents are there to enforce the rules and to collect the agreed levies – period. Not making the strongest effort to collect outstanding levies means just that and is not acceptable. If one owner owes months of levy, effectively…