Labour law expert Professor Adriaan van der Walt has been appointed as chair of South Africa’s newly-established National Minimum Wage (NMW) Commission.
The Commission, which will hold its first meeting later this month, was established as part of the NMW Act. It is intended to ensure that the wage threshold keeps pace with inflation and does not have a negative impact on employment figures.
It will also take over the function of the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) to undertake activities such as reviewing the NMW, investigating the phasing-in of a higher basic wage for domestic and farmworkers, advising the minister on determining sectoral wages, and reporting annually to the minister about the impact of the NMW on the economy.
Van der Walt, who was previously chairperson of the ECC, is also head of the labour and social security unit at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Other Commission members include independent experts Professor Imraan Valodia, Dr Neva Makgetla and Dr Sarah Mosoetsa, as well as businesspeople, labour experts and community representatives, according to Fin 24.
The NMW, which was introduced on 1 January, stipulates that all employees must be paid at least R20 (US$1.50) per hour, apart from farmworkers and domestic workers who are entitled to receive R18 (US$1.35) and R15 (US$1.12) per hour respectively. Expanded Public Works participants obtain R11 (US$0.82) an hour.
Meanwhile, a legislative amendment to South Africa’s expatriate tax law is set to come into effect on 1 March 2020, requiring South African tax residents abroad to pay tax to the South African Revenue Services of up to 45% of their foreign employment income, if it exceeds a threshold of R1 million (US$74,480).
To avoid criminal prosecution, South Africans working abroad can opt for 'financial emigration', Claudia Aires Apicella, head of financial emigration at Tax Consulting SA suggested.
If workers change their tax status from 'resident' to 'non-resident', they cease to be a South African tax resident and are no longer liable for paying any South African tax on their worldwide income. But they will be required to declare any South African sourced income that may be taxable, such as rental income.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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South Africa updates tax legislation for 2019
Labour law expert Professor Adriaan van der Walt has been appointed as chair of South Africa’s newly-established National Minimum Wage (NMW) Commission.
The Commission, which will hold its first meeting later this month, was established as part of the NMW Act. It is intended to ensure that the wage threshold keeps pace with inflation and does not have a negative impact on employment figures.
It will also take over the function of the Employment Conditions Commission (ECC) to undertake activities such as reviewing the NMW, investigating the phasing-in of a higher basic wage for domestic and farmworkers, advising the minister on determining sectoral wages, and reporting annually to the minister about the impact of the NMW on the economy.
Van der Walt, who was previously chairperson of the ECC, is also head of the labour and social security unit at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Other Commission members include independent experts Professor Imraan Valodia, Dr Neva Makgetla and Dr Sarah Mosoetsa, as well as businesspeople, labour experts and community representatives, according to Fin 24.
The NMW, which was introduced on 1 January, stipulates that all employees must be paid at least R20 (US$1.50) per hour, apart from farmworkers and domestic workers who are entitled to receive R18 (US$1.35) and R15 (US$1.12) per hour respectively. Expanded Public Works participants obtain R11 (US$0.82) an hour.
Meanwhile, a legislative amendment to South Africa’s expatriate tax law is set to come into effect on 1 March 2020, requiring South African tax residents abroad to pay tax to the South African Revenue Services of up to 45% of their foreign employment income, if it exceeds a threshold of R1 million (US$74,480).
To avoid criminal prosecution, South Africans working abroad can opt for 'financial emigration', Claudia Aires Apicella, head of financial emigration at Tax Consulting SA suggested.
If workers change their tax status from 'resident' to 'non-resident', they cease to be a South African tax resident and are no longer liable for paying any South African tax on their worldwide income. But they will be required to declare any South African sourced income that may be taxable, such as rental income.
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
OTHER STORIES THAT MAY INTEREST YOU
South Africa updates tax legislation for 2019
