%20%20(1).png)
Media & Resources.
Welcome to our downloadable resources page! Here, you'll find our Newsletters, designed to support your accounting needs. Our resources aim improve your financial management and enhance your understanding of key accounting practices. Feel free to explore and download what you find valuable!
Newsletters
March 2025
This newsletter focuses on the benefits of maintaining a positive mindset, noting that it allows individuals to face challenges resiliently, focus on solutions, and improve overall well-being and success. Positivity strengthens relationships and drives confidence and persistence. The article, however, cautions against "toxic positivity," which involves suppressing or ignoring negative emotions like sadness or frustration. True positivity requires acknowledging and processing difficult emotions while maintaining an optimistic outlook, fostering emotional resilience and self-compassion, and reframing challenges as opportunities for growth.
May 2025
This newsletter clarifies the total financial commitment of employment for businesses by differentiating between the employee’s Net Salary (take-home pay), Gross Salary (fixed earnings before deductions), and the Total Cost to Company (CTC). The CTC represents the actual cost to the employer, including gross salary plus employer-side statutory contributions (such as SSC and VET Levy) and other occasional costs like bonuses or training. In Namibia, the total payroll cost can be 10–20% higher than the net salary paid to the employee. Understanding the CTC is crucial for employers for accurate budgeting, compliance, and smarter hiring, while it helps employees understand the full value of their compensation package.
July 2025
This newsletter challenges the common perception of auditing as a disruptive burden, reframing it as a powerful strategic tool for building trust and strengthening business credibility. Audits require teamwork and time, but they yield clarity, insight, accountability, and improved decision-making. Auditing provides independent assurance that financial statements are accurate, complete, and compliant, reinforces confidence among stakeholders (including shareholders and the public), and acts as an external check for fraud prevention. Additionally, the process offers valuable operational insights by highlighting internal control weaknesses and areas needing improvement.
News Alert - Value Added Tax
This newsletter clarifies the significant difference between zero-rated supplies and exempt supplies in the VAT system. Zero-rated supplies are considered taxable supplies at 0%, allowing the business to recover all related input tax. Exempt supplies are non-taxable, meaning a business cannot claim any input tax on purchases related to them, which consequently becomes a business cost. A "mixed supply" business, providing both taxable and exempt goods/services, must apportion its input tax claim. Input tax exclusively linked to taxable supplies is fully deductible, while input tax related to exempt supplies is not. However, the "90% Rule" allows for full input tax recovery without apportionment if more than 90% of the VAT-registered person's total turnover arises from taxable supplies.
News Alert - Income Tax
This newsletter summarizes proposed income tax changes outlined in a layman's bill that is currently out for comment and not yet in effect. Key proposed changes include increasing the commutation threshold for pension, preservation, and retirement annuity funds from N$50,000 to N$375,000. Other proposals feature the introduction of a 10% dividend tax on dividends declared by resident companies, effective January 1, 2026, and changes to assessed tax losses, limiting the carry-forward period to 5 years for general taxpayers. The bill also proposes to reduce the tax rate for non-mining companies and introduce a 20% reduced tax rate for Small and Medium Businesses (SMEs).
April 2025
This newsletter summarizes the 2025/26 Budget Speech delivered on March 27, 2025, outlining tax policy and administration reforms focused on supporting economic growth and improving revenue mobilization. Key policy proposals include increasing the retirement funds single commutation threshold to N375,000 and introducing an annual housing benefit tax cap of N$400,000. Corporate changes include the introduction of a 10% dividend tax effective January 1, 2026, and an incremental reduction of the non-mining corporate tax rate to 28% starting FY2026/27. Revenue administration enhancements feature the launch of an e-invoicing system for VAT in April 2026 and the continuation of the Tax Amnesty program until October 31, 2026.
June 2025
This newsletter discusses the human tendency to seek certainty and control things beyond our reach, noting that trying to control the uncontrollable primarily leads to anxiety, frustration, and burnout. The proposed solution is a powerful shift in mindset, focusing energy instead on the aspects that are within one's control: mindset, reactions, and priorities. The controllable areas include choosing one's response to circumstances, directing one's effort and focus, setting healthy boundaries (like saying no or asking for help), and choosing an attitude of empathy and professionalism towards others. Letting go of the uncontrollable is presented as an empowering process that clears clutter, allowing efforts to concentrate where they will have the most impact.
August 2025
This newsletter informs clients about a temporary manual submission process for trust administration due to delays at the Master of the High Court's Trust Division. While the new electronic case management system went live on February 21, 2025, it currently only supports new trust registrations. The data migration for existing trusts was delayed until August 31, 2025. Consequently, all applications concerning existing trusts, such as trustee changes, deed amendments, or deregistration's, must be submitted manually until the system is fully functional. Furthermore, STARC Secretarial (Pty) Ltd is required to manually submit all trust financial statements and income tax returns before September 30, 2025.
News Alert - Taxability of Allowances
This newsletter addresses the misconception that income labeled "non-taxable" on a payslip is tax-exempt under the Income Tax Act. The general rule under Namibian law is that virtually all payments made by an employer to an employee for employment, including various allowances (car, standby, entertainment, etc.), are taxable. The employer must declare the full amount to the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), regardless of internal coding. Valid exceptions include genuine reimbursements of proven business expenses, which are non-taxable. Also, only up to one-third (⅓) of a properly registered housing allowance may qualify for non-taxable treatment. The document emphasizes that both employers and employees must maintain accurate records to prevent unexpected tax liabilities and penalties.