“When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” (Simon Sinek)
Employee engagement. It determines so much about the direction of a company, its staff productivity and how likely it is to succeed. According to a Gallup poll just 23% of South African employees are actively engaged, and the support offered by your company during difficult times is a key predictor of whether your employees are doing better or worse than that.
“Trust the young people; trust this generation's innovation. They're making things, changing innovation every day.” (Jack Ma, Co-Founder Alibaba Group)
South African businesses are always looking for ways to foster growth and innovation while still reducing costs.
One way to achieve both is to employ young people. Young workers bring unique advantages that can transform your organisation. What’s more, the government subsidises part of the employment costs for qualifying young employees through SARS’ Employment Tax Incentive or ETI.
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“Mixing personal and business finances might seem harmless, but it’s a costly mistake that can lead to tax headaches, legal risks, and financial chaos.” (Amanda Painter)
Mixing personal and business finances is so easy, particularly at the beginning. The company needs something, but money hasn’t come in, so you extend a small loan. You pay yourself back, by paying for the groceries on the company card.
Last month’s Budget 3.0 withdrew the contentious proposed VAT changes. This resulted in inflation-linked fuel levy increases of 16c for petrol and 15c for diesel, from 4 June.
Other tax proposals from March’s Budget – including static personal tax thresholds, reduced transfer duties, and sin tax increases – remain unchanged.
- 06 June – PAYE submissions and payments
- 25 June – VAT manual submissions and payments
- 27 June – Excise duty payments
- 30 June – VAT electronic submissions and payments, & CIT Provisional Tax payments where applicable.
“In 2025/26, SARS will focus on addressing the tax gap to improve revenue collection.” (National Treasury Budget Review)
With additional funding from National Treasury, SARS will now be better positioned than ever to collect the estimated R800 billion in unpaid taxes which SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter has identified as a better alternative than a VAT hike to balance the South African Budget.
“Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” (John F. Kennedy, former US president)
Humans are creatures of habit. We form opinions and sets of actions that we use as shorthand for all future decisions. We become trapped in loops of our own making and fall prey to common human ways of thinking that may save time, but ultimately hurt us.
“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” (Richard Branson)
Whether you call it May Day, Labour Day or International Workers’ Day, 1 May is an opportune time for businesses to consider and prioritise their workers.
