Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons
The Sport industry has developed over the years and now can even form part of the entertainment industry. Sportspersons have become celebrities in their own right and their image rights are treated as commodities. The image rights of famous sportspersons are commercial products exploited by sports c...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Department of Finance and Tax
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867614258745835520 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Nzuza, Khulekani |
| author2 | Roeleveld, Jennifer |
| author_browse | Nzuza, Khulekani Roeleveld, Jennifer |
| author_facet | Roeleveld, Jennifer Nzuza, Khulekani |
| author_sort | Nzuza, Khulekani |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | The Sport industry has developed over the years and now can even form part of the entertainment industry. Sportspersons have become celebrities in their own right and their image rights are treated as commodities. The image rights of famous sportspersons are commercial products exploited by sports clubs and enterprises in promoting their brands through merchandising and endorsement deals. As a result, sportspersons earn income from the use of their image in promotional activities. The Income Tax Act No.58 of 1962 does not provide specific rules for the taxation of image rights payments and the Guide on the Taxation of Professional Sports Clubs and Players (the 2018 Guide) issued by the South African Revenue Service is not legally binding. Therefore, the income tax treatment of image rights payments is a subject of different interpretations and a cause for uncertainty. The capital or revenue nature (classification) of income from the sale or exploitation of image rights is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the income tax classification of income derived by rugby, cricket and football players from the commercial exploitation of their image rights. The inquiry considered the regulations prescribed by the sport regulatory bodies, legislation, case law, literature and the section of the 2018 Guide which deals with image rights. A brief comparative study was also conducted to assess the tax position in the United Kingdom and United States of America. It was found that the South African law does not currently recognise an image right as a separable asset of an individual. Income emanates from the productive employment of an image right in lieu of its disposal therefore will form part of a sportspersons' gross income. The 2018 Guide also does not sufficiently address the income tax implications of the sale or exploitation of image rights. There is, therefore, a need for a legislative framework and a revised Guide to cater for the taxation of image rights payments. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33945 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:49:11.520Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | Department of Finance and Tax |
| publisherStr | Department of Finance and Tax |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/33945 Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons Nzuza, Khulekani Roeleveld, Jennifer Taxation The Sport industry has developed over the years and now can even form part of the entertainment industry. Sportspersons have become celebrities in their own right and their image rights are treated as commodities. The image rights of famous sportspersons are commercial products exploited by sports clubs and enterprises in promoting their brands through merchandising and endorsement deals. As a result, sportspersons earn income from the use of their image in promotional activities. The Income Tax Act No.58 of 1962 does not provide specific rules for the taxation of image rights payments and the Guide on the Taxation of Professional Sports Clubs and Players (the 2018 Guide) issued by the South African Revenue Service is not legally binding. Therefore, the income tax treatment of image rights payments is a subject of different interpretations and a cause for uncertainty. The capital or revenue nature (classification) of income from the sale or exploitation of image rights is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the income tax classification of income derived by rugby, cricket and football players from the commercial exploitation of their image rights. The inquiry considered the regulations prescribed by the sport regulatory bodies, legislation, case law, literature and the section of the 2018 Guide which deals with image rights. A brief comparative study was also conducted to assess the tax position in the United Kingdom and United States of America. It was found that the South African law does not currently recognise an image right as a separable asset of an individual. Income emanates from the productive employment of an image right in lieu of its disposal therefore will form part of a sportspersons' gross income. The 2018 Guide also does not sufficiently address the income tax implications of the sale or exploitation of image rights. There is, therefore, a need for a legislative framework and a revised Guide to cater for the taxation of image rights payments. 2021-09-15T22:02:06Z 2021-09-15T22:02:06Z 2021 2021-09-15T01:21:02Z Master Thesis Masters MCom http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33945 eng application/pdf Department of Finance and Tax Faculty of Commerce |
| spellingShingle | Taxation Nzuza, Khulekani Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons |
| title_full | Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons |
| title_fullStr | Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons |
| title_full_unstemmed | Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons |
| title_short | Image rights payment: The taxation of resident sportspersons |
| title_sort | image rights payment the taxation of resident sportspersons |
| topic | Taxation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33945 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nzuzakhulekani imagerightspaymentthetaxationofresidentsportspersons |