An international taxation comparison of South African employees working abroad

Abstract

Human migration and the search for something better has been part of humankind’s existence for centuries. In today's world, migration is triggered by a variety of factors. One such factor is the influence of tax on the income of skilled employees. Although prior research has been performed to determine the influence of tax on employee migration, this research made use of complex formulae and did not focus on a South African point of view. This study aims to determine whether tax plays a role when a South African skilled worker decides to migrate to the United Kingdom (UK) or Australia with the intention of working there. The study compares the different income tax consequences of a South African resident working in South Africa versus the same South African resident working abroad. The comparison is done by analysing the income tax acts of the three different countries. The study attempts to establish the difference in tax consequences for a South African skilled employee migrating to the United Kingdom or Australia on a temporary versus a permanent basis. Examples are used to illustrate the different effects. Together with known statistics and the results of the illustrative examples, the study concluded that individuals in the United Kingdom and Australia, in most cases, pay less tax compared to individuals in South Africa. AFRIKAANS : Die migrasie van mense en die soeke na iets beters is reeds eeue lank deel van menswees. In die hedendaagse wêreld word menslike migrasie deur ʼn aantal faktore aangespoor. Een van hierdie faktore kan moontlik die impak van belasting op geskoolde werknemers wees. Alhoewel daar voorheen studies gedoen is oor die impak van belasting op werknemermigrasie, is sodanige studies deur middel van komplekse formules uitgevoer en het die fokuspunt nooit Suid-Afrikaanse werknemers ingesluit nie. Hierdie studie beoog om te bepaal of inkomstebelasting ʼn rol speel in die besluitnemingsproses van ʼn Suid-Afrikaanse werknemer wat verhuis na die Verenigde Koningryk of Australië. Om die doelwit te behaal sal die studie die verskillende belastinggevolge vergelyk van ʼn Suid-Afrikaanse inwoner wat in Suid-Afrika werksaam is versus dieselfde Suid-Afrikaanse inwoner werksaam in die buiteland. Die vergelyking word gedoen deur die verskillende inkomstebelastingwette van die drie lande te ontleed. Die studie gaan verder deur die verskillende belastingberekeninge vir ʼn Suid-Afrikaanse inwoner wat na die Verenigde Koningryk of Australië verhuis het op ʼn tydelike basis versus ʼn permanente basis uit te voer. Voorbeelde word gebruik om die verskillende gevolge te illustreer. Copyright 2011, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Reyneke, D 2011, An international taxation comparison of South African employees working abroad, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03072012-165447 / > F12/4/155/gm