Getrude is 40 years old and works in Dubai as a contractor. She commenced as a contractor in Dubai in 2020 with an initial contract for a two-year period renewable every two years. She has renewed and extended her contract for the period 2022–2023. Housing is provided by the employer. Every time she extends her contract, she must obtain a work permit through the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Republic. She is single and does not own any fixed property. She visits her parents, who live in South Africa, twice a year during April and December for a total period of three weeks at each visit. Getrude travels on her South African passport. She does not possess any other passport. Her monthly income is $2 800 ($1 =R17 = R47 600 per month). She is a member of a South African medical aid fund and pays a monthly contribution of R3 750 to the fund. The tax rate applicable to individuals in Dubai is 0%.
Assume that there is no DTA between the two governments in place.
Getrude wants to donate R175 000 to her elderly parents to assist them in buying a house in a retirement village in South Africa. She can either give them the cash or her parents can register a mortgage bond over the property. She would then repay the bond. She also wants to donate R100 000 to her 5-yearold niece who lives in South Africa and R25 000 to her 22-year-old cousin living in the United Kingdom.
Getrude is uncertain about whether she will still be regarded as ordinarily resident in the Republic.
REQUIRED:
(a) Discuss (with reference to case law) whether Getrude will be regarded as ordinarily resident in the
Republic in terms of the definition of resident in the Income Tax Act. (You do not have to discuss the physical presence test.)
(b) Advise Getrude on her South African normal tax position for the 2024 year of assessment. (Assume that she will be regarded as a resident and that there are no DTAs.)
(c) Discuss the donations tax implications (assume that Getrude is a resident).
(d) Advise Getrude how she can minimise her donations tax liability.