Government may be planning to raid surpluses in many retirement funds in the same way as it plans to dip into the free reserves of Old Mutual and Sanlam.
The taxman always keeps a beady eye out for new sources of income. This time Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, took another dip at pensioner benefits and at the windfall Old Mutual and Sanlam policyholders expect to receive in demutualisation and from trusts.
A government-appointed body, the Tax Advisory Committee, is looking at several areas where the taxman believes we are getting away with not paying our full dues. These include:
* The distribution of surpluses by pension funds. As the government plans to take 2,5 percent of the free reserves of Old Mutual and Sanlam, it may have similar plans for the surpluses in retirement funds;
* Second hand insurance policies. Increasingly matured or surrendered life assurance policies are being used as tax shelters to generate non-taxable income. The government is concerned about the booming market and has asked the committee to investigate;
* The taxation of investment derivatives such as options and futures; and
* Transfer duty on the sale of immovable property.