Pieterse Sellner Erasmus TRM Tax Attorneys Dr Daniel N Erasmus

EXPERIENCE

Dr Daniel N Erasmus focuses on tax controversies as senior counsel in tax litigation with an emphasis on international tax issues (including transfer pricing issues) for multinational corporations and their international business structures in various jurisdictions including the USA, South Africa, Mauritius, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana.

His more than 33 years’ experience includes all aspects of income tax planning, Revenue Service administrative proceedings, and tax litigation. Daniel holds a PhD in Tax and Constitutional law, is an international tax adjunct professor at Middlesex University in London, and author of numerous textbooks on tax risk management, VAT, CGT and exchange control issues. He also edits various professional publications and has written well over 200 articles on tax-related issues.

Daniel has a great passion for mentoring others to achieve success in the field of taxation. He is the founder of www.IITF.net which provides various international tax programs. Daniel speaks at numerous conferences and seminars. He has led clients on how to address tax risks successfully arising from domestic and international tax disputes. He has also led various teams of lawyers and accountants in domestic and cross-border tax disputes. He enjoys the outdoors, photography and is an avid painter.

NOTABLE SUCCESS CASES

Given the strict law on confidentiality and secrecy under Act 28 of 2011, the names and clients cannot be listed or mentioned. With the necessary consent, testimonies by the clients and auditors/attorneys can be arranged. The following client cases were concluded successfully in:

Malawi:

A Transfer Pricing case where we were successful in bringing an application to interdict the MRA from demanding the tax deposit to be paid to proceed on appeal. The case was then withdrawn, resulting in 100% success, because of the evidence placed before the MRA that the tax audit information relied upon from exchange of information under a DTA was conducted incorrectly.

A multinational withholding tax and VAT issues where the matter was conceded entirely on all issues. We made a full presentation to the MRA resulting in a nil tax liability.

Zambia:

In a case we also submitted detailed responses to the letter of findings on various complex TP issues. The Revenue Authorities conceded they were wrong in all areas but one, where the client knew they had a small exposure. This was paid in full, and the matter was finalized without penalties.

South Africa:

We won (out of court). A tax audit was commenced against a large international consulting firm on TP issues. Our methodology resulted in no adjustment and termination of the tax audit.

Tanzania:

Daniel argued for a multinational and their local subsidiary on two separate matters in Tanzania against the TRA, all of which have been concluded and won.

The Revenue Authority claimed that the client had a permanent establishment in Tanzania. The Tax Board agreed that the client did not have a permanent establishment in Tanzania. The Tax Board also set aside the TRA’s corporate tax, VAT and withholding tax assessments.

In another TP case in the agricultural sector we successfully argued before the Tax Board that the MNE subsidiary was a contract manufacturer for TP purposes. The subsidiary’s ALP for the product sold by it to an Associated Enterprise was accepted.

Cases that are public knowledge that had a significant impact on tax jurisprudence are listed below:

Zimbabwe: IAB Company v ZIMRA (32 of 2022) [2022] ZWHHC 32 (19 January 2022) where the issue of canteen meals for factory workers were allowed as a deduction and the resultant assessment set aside.

South Africa: Income Tax Case No 1921 81 SATC 373:

Where the Tax Court held that SARS was not permitted to rely on a procedurally flawed audit conducted without the taxpayer’s knowledge as a new ground of assessment in its Rule 31 statement, as it would violate the principle of legality.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, AWARD & PUBLICATIONS

• BA (Law), University of Witwatersrand

• B Proc, UNISA

• H Dip Tax Law, University of Witwatersrand

• Ph.D. (Law), University of KZN

• Post-Graduate Diploma in Transfer Pricing, Thomas Jefferson School of Law

• Winner of the 2020 Corporate International Magazine Global Award: ‘International Tax Experts of the Year in South Africa - 2020’

• Co-Author of VAT for Lawyers: A Guideline

• Co-Author of CGT for Lawyers: A Guideline

• Co-Author of Exchange Control and Tax Amnesty: A practical Guideline, LexisNexis

• Author of Managing 7 Habitual Tax Mistakes, LexisNexis

• Author of Tax Intelligence, Amazon

• Co-author of Tax Risk Management: From Risk to Opportunity, IBFD publications

• Author of Tax Intelligence

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• LPC Legal Practice Council

• International Institute of Tax and Finance (Mauritius) Limited

• Law Society of South Africa

• TPA Global

• Middlesex University, London

• I/I/T/F.net tax education platform

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Organization: Small Claims Tax Court

Former President

Organization – Law Societies of South Africa

Previous Chair- Tax and Exchange Control matters committee

ProfessorCharacter:William

H. Byrnes – Dean of Tax Law, Texas AM University

Advocate Wim Trengove – Advocate of the High Court of South Africa

Advocate Gilbert Marcus SC – Advocate of the High Court of South Africa

Advocate Rudolph Mastenbroek - Advocate of the High Court of South Africa

Steef Huibregste - Chief Executive Officer, Transfer Pricing Associates BV

Gilbert Ferreira – Academic Operations at I/I/T/F.net

Keith Engel - Chief Executive Officer, South African Institute of Tax Practitioners (SAIT)

Testimonial Professional Services – Auditors /Attorneys

Clive Noland – Founder and Chairman Nolands

Willem Lombard – Chief Executive Officer Tax Risk Underwriters

Antonie van Wyk – Managing Partner, Van Wyk and Associates

Alan Nlawi Kileo – Managing Partner, B&E Ako Law

Mark Korten – Managing Partner, Korten Consulting