Latest news with #Section174
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Activists welcomes court decision dismissing application by teacher accused of child sexual abuse
CAPE TOWN - The Women and Men Against Child Abuse has welcomed a court decision dismissing an application by a former Cape Town teacher accused of child sexual abuse to be acquitted of charges against him. The Wynberg Regional Court rejected Iain Wares' Section 174 application brought by his lawyer Ben Mathewson last week. Mathewson argued that the state had insufficient evidence to prosecute his client and that the testimonies of state witnesses lacked credibility. Wares is facing multiple charges related to sexual abuse of boys in South Africa and in the United Kingdom during his 40-year teaching career. ALSO READ: ConCourt to hear application to halt extradition of Iain Wares to UK Iain Wares is accused by a former pupil at Rondebosch Boys Preparatory School, known only as Stephen, of abusing him in 1988 while he was a teacher there. Magistrate Vanessa Miki has ruled that the state's evidence is enough to proceed with the case. Women and Men Against Child Abuse Advocacy Manager Luke Lamprecht hailed the decision as an affirmation that Wares must finally answer for his crimes. "The now adult male victim who was 12 at the time he was taught by Mr Wares, his voice has been heard, and it has been decided by the Magistrate that Mr Wares has a case to answer to." The case has been postponed until October 14 for Wares to start his case.
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
86-year-old 'sex pest' teacher loses bid to dismiss case
Ian Wares, left, and his lawyer, Ben Mathewson, at the Wynberg court. Wares, who is wanted by UK authorities for 76 counts of sexual assault of young boys, has lost an application to have a Cape Town case discharged. Image: Genevieve Serra Former SA teacher, Iain Wares, who is wanted by UK authorities for 76 counts of sexual assault of young boys, has lost an application to have a Cape Town case discharged. Wares, 86, who walks using a walking stick, heard that his Section 174 discharge application was unsuccessful in the Wynberg Regional Court on Thursday. Magistrate Vanessa Miki said the State had enough evidence to proceed with the matter. She said that while looking at the evidence, it didn't warrant for the case to be rejected and therefore dismissed and refused the application. The application was brought by Ben Mathewson, Wares' lawyer, arguing that the State didn't have enough evidence to bring a prosecution and that the testimonies of two witnesses, that of the victim, lacked credibility. The local case involves a male victim who came forward after nearly four decades. Wares has since pleaded not guilty to the charge of indecent assault. With his legal team, he is also appealing his extradition to Scotland where he is supposed to stand for his alleged crimes abroad, arguing for the Extradition Act to be declared inconsistent with the Constitution. The responding parties brought their written and answering submissions and their notice to oppose the application earlier this year. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The local case involves a victim dubbed 'Stephen', who took the witness stand last year where he told of the indecent assault Wares allegedly inflicted on him. The 47-year-old victim broke his silence claiming he was abused by Wares who was his teacher at Rondebosch Boys' Preparatory during 1988. Wares is accused of indecently assaulting the male victim by touching his buttocks and penis and rubbing his penis up against the victim. The victim's wife took the stand as the State closed its case, in which she revealed how her husband broke his silence after seeing Wares on television. During her testimony, the woman, who cannot be identified, told the court that while they watched an episode of Carte Blanche in 2022, her husband revealed that it was his teacher who had abused him and did so by pointing to Wares who was on television.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Broken evidence chain, contradictions may aid Meyiwa defence in Section 174 bid: experts
Legal experts are divided about whether the defence's Section 174 application for discharge will succeed, after the closure of the state's case in the murder trial of soccer star Senzo Meyiwa. While the defence argues there is insufficient evidence to continue, analysts agree that the state's case has several weaknesses that the defence is likely to exploit when they argue their case from Thursday to have the charges dropped against the five men accused of killing the soccer star. These include a broken chain of evidence, contradictions in witness testimony and the state's failure to call all the individuals who were present in the house at the time of the murder. Meyiwa was shot dead in the presence of his then-girlfriend Kelly Khumalo at her mother's home in Vosloorus in October 2014. Also present were Kelly's sister Zandile, her boyfriend Longwe Twala, the sisters' mother Ntombi Khumalo and two of Meyiwa's friends visiting from KwaZulu-Natal. The occupants claimed Meyiwa was killed by one of two intruders who barged into the home and demanded cellphones and money. Mthobisi Mncube, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, Bongani Sandiso Ntanzi, Mthokoziseni Maphisa and Sifisokuhle Nkani Ntuli are on trial for Meyiwa's murder. They have pleaded not guilty. When the trial resumes on Thursday, the court is expected to hear whether the defence will proceed with its section 174 discharge application. The decision is pending approval from Legal Aid South Africa, which is funding the defence. According to senior legal consultant adv Romeo Nthambeleni, the section 174 application is brought by the accused when they feel that the state has not discharged its onus of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt. However, Nthambeleni does not believe the defence's application will succeed. 'The state has brought enough evidence to be able to link the accused to the crime scene. The state has brought enough evidence for the court to actually consider that they have committed the offence that they are charged with. As far as I'm concerned, they will not be successful on section 174.
Business Journals
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
The tax impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on businesses and owners
The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA) extends some of the previous tax items in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act while also introducing some changes. There are several tax planning opportunities to consider as managing tax due and the impact on cash flow for businesses and their owners can be challenging. Below are some of the most significant areas that impact businesses and their owners from the OBBBA. Permanent key business tax provisions: Key business tax provisions enacted in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that were set to either expire or had hit milestones included in the TCJA that had negative tax implications for businesses and their owners. These include: Bonus depreciation: The bill revives 100% bonus depreciation for property acquired and placed in service on or after Jan. 19, 2025. Businesses planning capital investments may benefit from bonus depreciation, which allows them to reduce taxable income and improve cash flow — freeing up funds to reinvest in growth. Section 179 expense: Section 179 previously allowed businesses to expense up to $1.16 million of qualifying property, with a phase-out threshold beginning at $2.89 million, both indexed for inflation. The OBBBA increased the maximum amount a taxpayer can expense to $2.5 million and increased the phase-out threshold amount to $4 million. Domestic research and experimental (R&E) expenditures: Businesses were previously required to capitalize and amortize domestic research and experimental expenses (Section 174 expenses) from Jan. 1, 2022, onward. This put stress on businesses and startups that had significant investment in R&D. The OBBBA suspends the required capitalization of domestic research and experimental expenditures for amounts paid or incurred in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024, and before Jan. 1, 2030, allowing for immediate expensing. Foreign R&E expenditures must still be capitalized and amortized over 15 years. The bill provides small businesses with the option to apply this change retroactively back to 2022 through amended returns. It also allows taxpayers to accelerate any remaining Section 174 deductions in 2025 or over 2025 and 2026. Business interest deduction limitation (Section 163(j)): Businesses were subject to a limitation on deducting interest expense based on adjusted taxable income (ATI) that did not allow for an add-back of depreciation and amortization for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2021. The OBBBA changes this for taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2024, the adjusted taxable income for purposes of the Section 163(j) limitation regarding ATI will be computed by reference to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), rather than EBIT, potentially allowing for larger interest deductions for many taxpayers. Section 199A qualified business income (QBI) deduction: The 20% QBI deduction for pass-through businesses is made permanent. This allows business owners of pass-through entities to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income on individual tax returns. Other key business tax provisions: Several additional changes were made in the OBBBA that are temporary or have an impact to specific businesses. These include: Lower international rates: The bill extends lower tax rates on international income with other modifications. The anticipated future rates were effectively higher as there were scheduled increases that will not be implemented due to changes established in the OBBBA. Opportunity Zones: The bill establishes a permanent Opportunity Zone policy while also modifying and expanding the program. Significant new reporting requirements were also included. Expensing of manufacturing property: Allows for the bonus depreciation of qualified production property 'manufacturing property' through 2031. Clean energy tax credits: The bill rolls back or phases out significant green energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including those for electric vehicles, home energy upgrades, wind and solar. The roll-back or phase-out dates are important as any purchases must be made or projects must be placed in service prior to these dates for businesses to take advantage of these tax credits. Form 1099 reporting: The OBBBA increases the information reporting for payments made to certain persons engaged in a trade or business from $600 to $2,000 with the amount to be indexed annually for inflation in calendar years after 2026. Section 1202, Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion: The OBBBA expands eligibility for the exclusion by raising the cap on a corporation's aggregate gross assets at the time of issuance from $50 million to $75 million and modifies the exclusion to provide a tiered approach based on the year the taxpayer disposes of the stock. Tips credit: The OBBBA expanded this credit to include the beauty service industry starting in 2025. The tips credit previously applied only to the food and beverage industry and provides a credit for the FICA paid by the employer on tips. Careful consideration should be given to plan for the implementation of these changes. There are options for qualified businesses to apply some of these changes retroactively or on a go-forward basis. Tax planning should also consider the interaction of any elective changes on other tax deductions along with the overall impact on taxable income. With proactive planning with your Brady Ware team, your business can maximize tax savings strategies with the new OBBBA. Learn more on our website. There are also benefits and changes for individuals that are discussed in our related article on the OBBBA, ' The One Big Beautiful Bill Act: An individual taxpayer perspective.' Brady Ware is a top 200 CPA and advisory firm serving clients from our Dayton (OH), Columbus (OH), Atlanta (GA) and Richmond (IN) office locations focused on serving small- to middle-market privately held companies, high-net-worth families and nonprofit organizations.
The Citizen
15-07-2025
- The Citizen
Convicted serial killer, ex-cop in court for alleged murder plot
Convicted serial killer and former police officer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu appeared in the Kempton Park Regional Court this morning alongside her former colleague Nomsa Mudau on charges of conspiracy to commit murder. Kempton Express reports the case was postponed to October 1 after representation did not arrive for the hearing. On June 5, the case against the two former police officers was also postponed for a Section 174 application. Ndlovu, formerly stationed at the Tembisa Police Station, and Mudau, who served at the Norkem Park Police Station, are accused of conspiring to kill Mudau's ex-husband, Justice Mudau. It is alleged Mudau promised to pay the hitmen using proceeds from a life insurance policy she had taken out in her ex-husband's name. However, instead of carrying out the killing, the hitmen tipped him off. Ndlovu was sentenced in 2021 to six life terms in prison for the murders of five of her relatives and her partner. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
