Trading companies, trading close corporations, all trusts and all individuals that are South African citizens by definition, must be registered for income tax in South Africa.

The new Tax Administration Act of South Africa (TAA) has extended SARS's information net greatly, thereby allowing government to probe into information not previously accessible by law.

Many companies, trusts and individuals would be surprised that once they legally register themselves for income tax that SARS already had them on their radar for some time.

Bear in mind that monthly penalties on late submission of any return will be levied by SARS automatically.

At Taxrek, we strive for excellence and transparency and believe that its best to register all entities for income tax, regardless of whether an entity has started to trade or not.

In the corporate world, many clients do not even inform their accountants or auditors that they have started to trade.

This is a fatal error as prevention is always better than cure and would be counterproductive if SARS informs your accountant or auditor about trading activities and not yourself.

Note that financial institutions already supply SARS with all relevant information on all bank accounts that exists within South Africa every 6 months. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and SARS will use this statement very effectively in their defence.