Latest news with #842
Gulf Today
22-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Bayt Al Khair spent Dhs10,504,184 on humanitarian initiatives last month
Bayt Al Khair revealed that its total expenditure for April 2025 amounted to Dhs10,504,184, bringing the cumulative spending for the first four months of 2025 to Dhs85,954,842. Humanitarian support programmes topped the list, with expenditures totaling Dhs39,698,079 during the same period. These programmes aim to alleviate the hardships faced by individuals struggling with their livelihoods, addressing deficiencies beyond their financial capabilities. This expenditure is in addition to the monthly cash assistance projects targeting low-income Emirati families, which amounted to Dhs5,569,620 during the same period. The emergency assistance project falls under the "Fazaa" community solidarity programme, dedicated to relieving the burdens of modest families and those facing sudden crises or disabilities, enabling them to overcome their challenges and resume their normal lives. Through this initiative, "Bayt Al Khair" also provides humanitarian support to patients, both citizens and residents, via the "Treatment" project, which spent Dhs13,192,508 by the end of April. Additionally, the programme assists individuals burdened by debts they cannot repay through "Al Gharimin" project, which has expended Dhs3,118,087 so far.
TimesLIVE
20-05-2025
- TimesLIVE
People smuggler jailed in UK for arranging boats from Libya to Italy
An Egyptian who helped smuggle thousands of migrants into Europe from North Africa was on Tuesday jailed for 25 years in a London court. Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Ebid, 42, conspired with others to assist unlawful immigration by supplying vessels for illegally smuggling migrants from Libya to Italy from shortly after his arrival in Britain in October 2022 until June 2023. The Crown Prosecution Service said during that period authorities intercepted seven crossings involving nearly 3,800 migrants which made the criminal network more than £12m (R288.1m). Ebid was said to have played a leading role in the gang which advertised crossings on Facebook, charging migrants an average of more than £3,200 (R76,842) per person. Ebid's home was bugged by Britain's National Crime Agency, which revealed him on one occasion telling an associate migrants were not allowed to carry phones on his boats. 'Tell them guys anyone caught with a phone will be killed, threw (sic) in the sea,' Ebid said. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to assist unlawful immigration last year and was sentenced to 25 years in jail at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. Judge Adam Hiddleston said Ebid and his associates had 'ruthlessly and cynically exploited' those who tried to make the journey to Europe. The judge added: 'The treatment of the migrants on your orders and in your name was horrifying. They were, simply a commodity to you. 'You talked of them in terms of units not as people, referring to them as 'cartons'. The important thing to you was that each paid the exorbitant fare that was charged for their crossing and that nobody did anything to compromise your operation.'
TimesLIVE
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Shareholders demand VW reforms its ‘highly problematic' governance
Volkswagen's shareholders renewed their criticism of the carmaker's corporate governance on Friday, demanding greater board independence and expressing growing concern over the dominance of the German company's controlling families. At the carmaker's virtual annual general meeting, several major investors took aim at CEO Oliver Blume's dual role as head of Volkswagen and Porsche AG, a contentious issue since Porsche's listing as a separate company in September 2022. "Mr Blume, again we make the urgent appeal: give up one of your board positions," said Ingo Speich of Deka Investment, stating conflicts of interest across the carmaker's governance structure were "highly problematic" and causing "grave damage to reputation and enormous financial losses.." Volkswagen's share price has dropped by nearly 25% in the past year from €140.40 (R2,842) to €105.6 (R2,138), underperforming the European autos index and Germany's DAX, according to LSEG data. The carmaker, which warned last month it would likely hit the bottom end of its annual profit margin forecast, is battling challenges in all its key markets, from steep tariffs in the US to fierce competition in China and high costs in Europe. 'Blatant deficiencies' The Porsche and Piech families effectively control Volkswagen through their holding firm Porsche SE, which holds most of the voting rights in the Wolfsburg-based carmaker. Wolfgang Porsche, who leads the supervisory boards of Porsche SE and sportscar maker Porsche AG, has previously dismissed the idea that poor governance is to blame for the carmaker's languishing share price, instead blaming weak performance and high costs. However, four investors argued that a lack of expertise on the board in key competencies such as electrification and digitalisation were holding back the carmaker. "The impression is becoming stronger that power, rather than the market, dominates at VW," said Hendrik Schmidt from asset manager DWS. Blume and supervisory board chair Hans Dieter Poetsch defended the CEO's dual role on Friday, saying it benefited cost-cutting efforts underway at the two companies. "It was clear from the beginning that [my dual role] was not intended to last forever," Blume said. "The dual role is a recipe for success." Investors are not so sure.
Daily Maverick
24-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
The tax implications of an RA, unit trust and tax-free investment
Investors need to consider various tax implications when comparing the three product options. Question: I am 55 years old and earn R25,000 a month. I have no retirement savings and want to invest R5,000 a month to supplement my spouse's pension. Should I invest this in a retirement annuity (RA), unit trust or tax-free investment? Answer: Each of these products has its own tax structure in terms of tax breaks when you invest the money; tax on the investment build-up; and tax applied to any withdrawals. You will need to take these into account when comparing the three product options. (See the table below.) I will take you through the typical calculations a financial planner would make. For the calculations, I will work on you investing R5,000 a month for the next 10 years. I have assumed that inflation will be 5% and that the investment returns will be inflation +4%. Retirement annuity The R5,000 investment you make to the RA will come off your taxable income. This will save you an amount of R1,300 in tax each month. (See table on the top right.) You can invest this additional R1,300 a month in an RA, which means your R5,000 investment is actually R6,300, with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in effect contributing the additional R1,300. If you invest R6,300 a month for 10 years, the investment should be worth R1,203,842. Now, with an RA, you are allowed to take one-third as a lump sum and the balance as a pension. (See the table below.) As you haven't taken a retirement lump sum before, the full amount of the lump sum will be free of tax, as the first R550,000 of a retirement lump sum is not taxed. It is recommended that you take a 5% drawdown from your retirement capital. This will give you R40,128 a year. This is too low to attract income tax, so your income and lump sum would be tax-free. (See the table below.) Tax-free investments and unit trusts You can only invest a maximum of R3,000 a month in a tax-free investment, so I will work on you investing the remaining R2,000 in a unit trust. After 10 years, the investment would be worth R1,007,288. (See the table below.) Drawings from the tax-free investment would not attract tax, whereas the drawdowns from the unit trust would trigger capital gains tax (CGT). However, the gain on these drawdowns should fall within the annual R40,000 CGT exclusion, so no tax is payable. The key difference is that the tax break when you invest the premiums makes the retirement annuity (RA) an attractive option. Returns I did some calculations and the unconstrained investments would have to deliver returns that are 5% better than the RA for the end value of the investment to be better than the RA. So, unless this can be achieved by the tax-free and unit trust portfolio, the RA would provide the best solution. DM Kenny Meiring is an independent financial adviser. Contact him on 082 856 0348 or at Send your questions to [email protected] This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
