Plan your finances in a tax efficient way
Never before has there been a more important time to consider your financial affairs and take stoke of your personal financial future. This is according to Michele Carby – Managing Partner; team leader and financial planning expert at global financial advisory group, Holborn Assets.
“It is the beginning of a new year and the end of the 2015 tax year; but we live with worrying uncertainty about the weak rand and the future of our economy – in addition to the possibility of a downgrading of the South African rand to junk status,” says Michele.
She explains that with increased pressure on the economy, there is also a squeeze on our tax system to assist in covering part of the shortfall in the budget deficit. Pension fund reforms, tax information collection legislation such as with reportable arrangements, the recent implementation of CRS (Common Reporting Standards), the Davis Tax Reform Committee, and changes to income tax legislation all contribute to an ever-increasing burden on the man and woman in the street.
“The taxpayer now has to wade through all these changes, which can sometimes be highly complex – and somehow make sense of it all.”
Michele says what appears to be clear is that we all should be planning for our financial future by considering alternatives to local investing and looking, to a greater or lesser extent, at investing in overseas markets using the generous annual foreign investment allowances.
“This at least creates some relative certainly if an overseas investment base is in a currency other than the rand, and rather valued in the dollar, the Euro or pound.
“Investments overseas can also be housed in highly tax-efficient and beneficial personal pension structures offshore, which are flexible, easy to understand, accessible and, most importantly, highly cost-effective. An added benefit is that in addition to the advice given by your investment advisor; there is also a pension fund trustee who oversees the nature of the investment for the protection of the member.
“International pension plans are excellent ways to plan for an uncertain future – and have evolved into an excellent form of financial and tax planning that everyone should consider;” concludes Michele.
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For more information, please contact Michele Carby at Holborn Asset Management on +971 50 618 6463 and on e-mail at [email protected]
