News 16:00

BULLETIN 5 August 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Treasury proposes tax reforms to align with recent court rulings
# Operation Shanela leads to thousands of notable arrests across South Africa
# And, cricket: Former England batter and coach Graham Thorpe has died

# National Treasury is proposing major tax reforms to align with recent court rulings, and curb tax avoidance. Key changes include measures against abusive Employment Tax Incentive schemes, with a 100-percent penalty on misused claims starting March next year. Reforms also address taxpayer confidentiality following the Arena Holdings case, to align with the Promotion of Access to Information Act. Additionally, layperson representation in tax court will be permitted, following the Candice van der Merwe case, making the legal system more accessible and affordable for taxpayers.

# Operation Shanela has led to 13-thousand-966 arrests across South Africa. Notable arrests include four-thousand-and-65 wanted suspects, 106 for murder, 182 for rape, and 240 drug dealers. Police confiscated 158 firearms and one-thousand-448 rounds of ammunition, and recovered 74 hijacked vehicles. Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says major takedowns included rescuing 90 human trafficking victims and seizing 300-million-rand worth of drugs:

# Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has defended president Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidential imbizo events against wasteful expenditure allegations. Hlabisa revealed that the events cost 44-million-rand over 18 months and aimed to address public service delivery issues and allow citizens to voice concerns. Responding to DA MP Frederik Badenhorst, Hlabisa argued that the expenses were justified. He told SABC News, the criticism is exaggerated:

# Eskom has warned of potential widespread prepaid meter fraud leading to delayed updates. Approximately 2.7 million Eskom prepaid customers have not purchased electricity legally since their meters were prepared for a crucial update. The power utility suspects many meters have been bypassed or electricity credits are being bought from ghost vendors. Eskom says the update which is essential before 24 November is critical to avoid meter failures.

# Cricket: Former England batter and coach Graham Thorpe has died at the age of 55.Thorpe won 100 Test caps beteen 1993 and 2005 and scored 16 centuries during a stellar England career and was regarded as one of the best batters of his generation. In total he scored six-thousand-744 Test runs for England at an average of 44 and also appeared in 82 one-day internationals. After retiring in 2005, he transitioned into coaching, working with the England international teams in various roles between 2010 and 2022.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-60-cents and the euro at 20-rand-41-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-76-cents and Bitcoin trades at 50-thousand-782-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-385-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….