# South Africa double taxation



## Ariapsico (Jul 26, 2018)

Hi there, I come for advise, since we have been getting so many different opinions...I'm an italian citizen and after 11 years in South Africa I moved my family back to Italy. My husband has got double citizenship south african and Italian and we both took up our residency here. The problem is that my husband works remotely for the same SA company he has been employed with so the past 5 years. We have received different advises on how to deal with taxation: somebody says we must keep paying taxes in SA and then just declare at the end of June to the Italian authorities that we have already paid taxes in SA, others said that this is impossible, since we live in italy we must pay taxes in italy. The huge problem is that although the 2 countries have signed an agreement to avoid the double taxation, now South Africa says it will not allow my husband company to withhold the taxes and it seems we will have to keep paying taxes there monthly and at the end of June next year we will have to pay all taxes again in Italy!I feel like crying... a tax expert we spoke to says we will have then to initiate a court case to get the taxes back,but who will pay for it?and how can we pay 86% of taxes in the meantime?? Bottom line I wonder how a country which has signed a treaty can now decide to do things differently...


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Generally speaking, you wind up paying taxes to the country in which you are "tax resident" - which can mean the country where you live. Where you work is determined by where you are physically located while doing the work - so if your husband is working remotely from Italy, then he should be paying taxes (and social insurances) to Italy.

I don't know anything about the tax system in South Africa, but sometimes it is necessary to file paperwork with the tax authority to notify them when you are no longer resident in the country, so that they will take you off the tax rolls. However, the nationality of the employer really has no bearing on where you pay your taxes.

You may want to look into the matter of formally declaring yourself to have given up residence in South Africa.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Ariapsico (Jul 26, 2018)

Thank you so much, we will definetely need to find out more as to what losing the residence there entails, in terms of keeping our bank account, pensions, life insurance etc



Bevdeforges said:


> Generally speaking, you wind up paying taxes to the country in which you are "tax resident" - which can mean the country where you live. Where you work is determined by where you are physically located while doing the work - so if your husband is working remotely from Italy, then he should be paying taxes (and social insurances) to Italy.
> 
> I don't know anything about the tax system in South Africa, but sometimes it is necessary to file paperwork with the tax authority to notify them when you are no longer resident in the country, so that they will take you off the tax rolls. However, the nationality of the employer really has no bearing on where you pay your taxes.
> 
> ...


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## casweekar (Nov 28, 2016)

Under the international tax regime. Country of residence generally has full taxation rights. However, country of source may also tax that income for which the country of residence will have to offer credit of tax payed at country of source. 
Sweekar Bhardwaj
Ca, Cpa, LLm int. Tax (oxford, Melb)


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