| (1) |
For the purposes of this section— |
"controlled company"
means a company that is a subsidiary, as defined in IFRS, of a REIT;
"property company"
means a company—
| (a) |
in which 20 per cent or more of the equity shares or linked units are held by a REIT or a controlled company (whether alone or together with any other company forming part of the same group of companies as that REIT or that controlled company); and |
| (b) |
of which at the end of the previous year of assessment 80 per cent or more of the value of the assets, reflected in the annual financial statements prepared in accordance with the Companies Act or IFRS for the previous year of assessment, is directly or indirectly attributable to immovable property; |
[Definition substituted by section 45(1)(a) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 43 of 2014)]
"qualifying distribution"
"qualifying distribution" in respect of a year of assessment of a company that is a REIT or a controlled company as at the end of a year of assessment, means any dividend (other than a dividend contemplated in paragraph (b) of the definition of "dividend") paid or payable in respect of an equity share, or interest incurred in respect of a debenture forming part of a linked unit in that company, if the amount thereof is determined with reference to the financial results of that company as reflected in the financial statements prepared for that year of assessment if—
[Words preceding paragraph (a) substituted by section 29(1)(a) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 23 of 2020), GG44083, dated 20 January 2021 - comes into operation on 1 January 2021 and applies in respect of years of assessment commencing on or after that date (section 29(2)]
| (a) |
that year of assessment is the first year of assessment and at least 75 per cent of the gross income received by or accrued to a company during that first year of assessment that the company qualifies as a REIT or a controlled company, consists of rental income; and |
[Definition substituted by section 49(a) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2018 (Act No. 23 of 2018), GG 42172, dated 17 January 2019]
| (b) |
in any other case, at least 75 per cent of the gross income received by or accrued to a REIT or a controlled company in the preceding year of assessment consists of rental income: |
Provided that any amount that must be included in the income of the REIT or controlled company in terms of section 9D(2) must not be included in the gross income of the REIT or controlled company in respect of that year of assessment for the purposes of this definition;
[Definition substituted by section 45(a) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2017 (Act No. 17 of 2017)]
"rental income"
means an amount calculated in accordance with the formula—
RI = PI + EG
in which formula—
| (a) |
‘RI’ represents the amount to be determined; |
| (b) |
‘PI’ represents the aggregate of all amounts received or accrued— |
| (i) |
in respect of the use of immovable property, including a penalty or interest in respect of late payment of any such amount; |
| (ii) |
as a dividend (other than a dividend contemplated in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘dividend’) from a company that is a REIT at the time of the distribution of that dividend; |
| (iii) |
as a qualifying distribution from a company that is a controlled company at the time of that distribution; |
| (iv) |
as a dividend or foreign dividend from a company that is a property company at the time of that distribution; and |
| (c) |
‘EG’ represents the total of foreign exchange gains contemplated in the definition of ‘exchange difference’ in section 24I(1), determined in terms of that section in respect of the amounts referred to in paragraph (b) that constitute exchange items or any exchange item serving as a hedge in respect of amounts referred to in that paragraph. |
[Definition substituted by section 32 of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2019 (Act No. 34 of 2019), GG 42951, dated 15 January 2020]
(2)
| (ii) |
a controlled company that is a resident, |
the amount of any qualifying distribution made by that REIT or that controlled company in respect of that year of assessment if that company is a REIT or a controlled company on the last day of that year of assessment.
| (b) |
The aggregate amount of the deductions contemplated in paragraph (a) may not exceed the taxable income for that year of assessment of that REIT or that controlled company, before taking into account— |
| (i) |
any deduction in terms of this subsection; |
| (ii) |
any assessed loss brought forward in terms of section 20; and |
| (2A) |
For the purposes of calculating the taxable income in respect of a year of assessment of a REIT or a controlled company as contemplated in subsection (2)(b)— |
| (i) |
a REIT or a controlled company is a beneficiary of a vesting trust that is not a resident; and |
| (ii) |
the trust contemplated in subparagraph (i) is liable for or subject to tax on income in the country in which that trust is established or formed, |
so much of any amount of tax on income proved to be payable by that trust to the government of a country other than the Republic as is attributable to the interest of that REIT or controlled company in that trust, without any right of recovery of that tax by any person, other than a right of recovery in terms of any entitlement to carry back losses arising during any year of assessment, limited to the amount of taxable income that is attributable to those amounts, must be allowed to be deducted by that REIT or controlled company before taking into account any deduction in terms of subsection (2)(a);
[Section 25BB(2A)(a) substituted by section 49(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2018 (Act No. 23 of 2018), GG 42172, dated 17 January 2019]
| (b) |
there must be allowed as a deduction from the income of that REIT or that controlled company the sum of any taxes on income proved to be payable by that REIT or that controlled company in respect of any amount to any sphere of government of any country other than the Republic, without any right of recovery by any person other than a right of recovery in terms of any entitlement to carry back losses arising during any year of assessment, limited to the amount of taxable income that is attributable to those amounts, before taking into account any deduction in terms of paragraph (c) and subsection (2)(a); |
[Section 25BB(2A)(b) substituted by section 48(1)(c) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2016 (Act No. 15 of 2016) - effective 1 January 2016]
| (c) |
where during any year of assessment a REIT or controlled company has made a bona fide donation to any organisation as contemplated in section 18A(1)(a) or (b) there must be allowed to be deducted an amount equal to the amount of that donation: Provided that the deduction so allowed may not exceed 10 per cent of the taxable income of that REIT or controlled company after taking into account any deduction in terms of paragraph (a) and (b) but before taking into account any deduction in terms of subsection (2)(a); and |
| (d) |
where a foreign dividend is received by or accrued to a REIT or controlled company, section 10B(2)(a) must not apply. |
[Section 25BB(2A)(d) inserted by section 29(1)(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2020 (Act No. 23 of 2020), GG44083, dated 20 January 2021 - comes into operation on 1 January 2021 and applies in respect of years of assessment commencing on or after that date (section 29(2)]
| (3) |
[Section 25BB(3) deleted by section 50(1)(c) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 25 of 2015) - deemed to have come into operation on 1 April 2013] |
| (4) |
A company that is a REIT or a controlled company on the last day of a year of assessment may not deduct by way of an allowance any amount in respect of immovable property in terms of section 11(g), 13, 13bis, 13ter, 13quat, 13quin or 13sex. |
| (a) |
immovable property of a company that is a REIT or controlled company at the time of the disposal; |
[Section 25BB(5)(a) substituted by section 45(1)(c) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 43 of 2014)]
| (b) |
a share or a linked unit in a company that is a REIT at the time of that disposal; or |
| (c) |
a share or a linked unit in a company that is a property company at the time of that disposal, |
must be disregarded.
[Section 25BB(5) substituted by section 45(1)(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 43 of 2014)]
(6)
| (a) |
Any amount of interest received by or accrued to a person during a year of assessment in respect of a debenture forming part of a linked unit held by that person in a company that is— |
| (i) |
a REIT or a controlled company that is a resident must be deemed to be a dividend received by or accrued to that person; or |
| (ii) |
a controlled company that is a foreign company must be deemed to be a foreign dividend received by or accrued to that person, during that year of assessment. |
[Section 25BB(6)(a) substituted by section 48(1)(d) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2016 (Act No. 15 of 2016)]
| (b) |
Any amount of interest received by or accrued to a company that is a REIT or a controlled company that is a resident during a year of assessment in respect of a debenture forming part of a linked unit held by that company in a property company must if the property company is a resident be deemed to be a dividend, or if the property company is a foreign company be deemed to be a foreign dividend, received by or accrued to that company during that year of assessment if that company is a REIT or a controlled company that is a resident at the time of that receipt or accrual. |
[Section 25BB(6)(b) substituted by section 50(1)(d) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2015 (Act No. 25 of 2015) - deemed to have come into operation on 1 April 2013]
| (c) |
Any amount of interest paid in respect of a linked unit in a REIT or a controlled company must be deemed— |
| (i) |
to be a dividend paid by that REIT or that controlled company that is a resident for the purposes of the dividends tax contemplated in Part VIII of this Chapter; and |
[Section 25BB(6)(c)(i) substituted by section 48(1)(e) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2016 (Act No. 15 of 2016) - effective 1 January 2017]
| (ii) |
not to be an amount of interest paid by that REIT or that controlled company for the purposes of the withholding tax on interest contemplated in Part IVB of this Chapter. |
| (7) |
If during any year of assessment a company that is a REIT ceases to be a REIT and that company does not qualify as a controlled company or a company that is a controlled company ceases to be a controlled company and that company does not qualify as a REIT— |
| (a) |
that year of assessment of that REIT or controlled company is deemed to end on the day preceding the date on which that company ceases to be either a REIT or a controlled company; and |
[Section 25BB(7) substituted by section 45(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2017 (Act No. 17 of 2017)]
| (b) |
the following year of assessment of that company is deemed to commence on the day on which that company ceased to be either a REIT or a controlled company. |
[Section 25BB(7)(b) substituted by section 45(b) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2017 (Act No. 17 of 2017)]
| (8) |
If a REIT or a controlled company cancels the debenture part of a linked unit and capitalises the issue price of the debenture to stated capital for the purposes of financial reporting in accordance with IFRS— |
| (a) |
the cancellation of the debenture must be disregarded in determining the taxable income of the holder of the debenture and of the REIT or controlled company; |
| (b) |
expenditure incurred by the holder of a share in the REIT or controlled company in respect of the shares is deemed to be equal to the amount of the expenditure incurred in respect of the acquisition of that linked unit; and |
[Section 25BB(8)(b) substituted by section 45(1)(f) of the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2014 (Act No. 43 of 2014) - deemed to have come into operation on 1 April 2013]
| (c) |
the issue price of the cancelled debenture must be added to the contributed tax capital of the class of shares that forms part of the linked unit. |
Supreme Court Act, 1959
