As technological changes and other changes driven by natural disasters such as pandemics, continue to drive innovation and create opportunities, knowing what is changing, how and why is the first step in planning to harness such change to create a sustainable business and a sustainable world.
This year the TaxCon theme is “Harnessing Change.” The conference will be hosted as a webcast as previously done last year and will delve into various change trends in a number of sectors and the tax implications thereof. The conference will identify the key players that have contributed to innovative change and have them unpack and provide insights into what drove this change and also where tax fits in with the change.
Day 2: 2 September 13:00 -15:00
How do new business models that are driven by technology such as virtual influencing, ethical hacking, telemedicine and digitised stokvels generate revenue? What are the tax implications for these businesses?
Session 1: Telemedicine
The field of medicine is changing rapidly, particularly regarding the changing societal need for proximity between medical professionals and patients.Telemedicine is the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance and has the potential to increase access to quality healthcare while reducing costs to patients and the healthcare system.
- What income tax issues apply to both taxable and tax-exempt healthcare providers who employ telemedicine?
- When the use of telemedicine crosses geographical lines, what are local and international tax consequences?
- As a general rule, the value of cash and non-cash benefits provided to an employee by an employer is taxable, unless specifically excluded. How does this translate in the context of telemedicine which requires certain equipment such as computers, cameras etc. to deliver remote services?
Session 2: Digitising Stockvels
Stokvels hold about R49 billion in savings and have nearly 12 million active members in South Africa which is equal in number to members of formal savings schemes. Though many people
and businesses know about stokvels, they do not understand how these savings clubs work or see the potential business opportunities in digitising and formalising it.
- What is the impact of digitising stokvels and how does it create business opportunities?
- What are the tax implications of income earned from a stokvel for the stokvel and its members respectively?
- Will the expenses incurred by a stokvel and the respective member qualify for deduction in terms of the general deduction formula?