Daniel has recently completed the international textbook on Tax Risk Management, "Managing the 7 Habitual tax mistakes" published and distributed by Lexis Nexis.

Daniel started his tax career in the mid 1980's at Deloitte & Touche. Shortly thereafter he joined the tax department of Hofmeyr Attorneys, where he was soon appointed at that stage as the youngest equity director of that firm. After a number of years, he left to form his own tax law firm, attracting various multinational clients, and later headed the tax department of former 100 year old law firm Moss Morris. He was the chairman of the Law Society of South Africa's Tax Matters Committee for more than seven years, and still is a member of that committee after it merged with the exchange control committee (serving as chairman and member for more than 10 years). He is co-founder and former lecturer of the University of Johannesburg's Diploma in Tax Practice program, and co-authored VAT for Lawyers: A Guideline; CGT: A Guideline, and more recently Lexis Nexis Butterworth’s Exchange Control & Income Tax Amnesty Handbook.

Daniel was on a sub-committee on the Katz Commission of Inquiry into Taxation in South Africa, and has been a member of the VAT technical committee for SARS. He is also the editor of the dedicated tax website: http://www.taxtalk.co.za/ and lectures extensively on various specialist subjects in the field of taxation in South Africa and abroad.

Rights of taxpayers

Daniel is a pioneer in the area of the constitutional rights of taxpayers, and is at the forefront of tax research in this area.

He is currently reading a PhD in Tax and the Constitution. His thesis investigates the powers of tax collectors to obtain information from taxpayers to conduct audits, as opposed to using the information to criminally prosecute taxpayers if any tax payment ommissions are discovered.

His research into the thesis has been applied extensively by Daniel in his tax practice for more than 6 years, changing for his multinational clients the way in which audits are conducted between the Fiscus and Taxpayers. This research has culminated in the development of his Tax Risk Management strategy, designed to avoid audits that give rise to disputes between taxpayer and the Fiscus.

Emphasis is placed on transparency and co-operation, and in so doing avoiding the negative consequences of protracted tax disputes and litigation.

His latest area of development is the Tax Risk Management for Executives seminars. These seminars have been attended by prominent corporations such as SABMiller, Anglo American plc, Barloworld Ltd, The SA Post Office Ltd, Group 5 Ltd, Vodacom Ltd and Ernst & Young, Tsogo Sun Group, ABSA and other prominent companies. The course has been offered no less than 18 times in the last 3 years.

The seminars are unique in many aspects, sharing with delegates the tax risk management system {TRM} devised by DE Consulting, under Daniel's guidance.

Subsequent to launching the Tax Risk Management seminars, Daniel has lectured a 4 week part-time course in Tax Risk Management at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), one of the top 30 business schools in the world.

Executive Summary

BAR ADMISSIONS

• Practising attorney admitted to practice as an attorney in the High Court of South Africa, 1989.

COURT ADMISSIONS

• Former presiding officer of the Tax Board for hearing Tax Appeals, 1993 - 1998.
• Tax Court.
• High Court.
• Supreme Court of Appeal.

EDUCATION

• B.A. University of the Witwatersrand, 1984.
• BProc. University of South Africa, 1988.
• H. Dip. Tax Law University of the Witwatersrand, 1990.
• PhD. currently reading University of KwaZulu-Natal.

  PRACTICE AREAS

• Tax Litigation
• Tax Risk Management
• Corporate: Tax Planning & Compliance
• International Tax
• Transfer Pricing
• Value Added Tax
• Capital Gains Tax
• Exchange Control & Tax Amnesties
• Constitutional Law & Tax
• Structured Finance
• Mergers & Acquisitions
• Venture Capital
• International Mutual & Hedge Funds

   PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• Law Societies of South Africa (LAWSA)
• Law Society of the Northern Provinces
• Registered Tax Practioner with the South African Revenue Service
• LAWSA Ad Hoc Exchange Control & Tax Matters Committee (former chairperson for 7 years)

  PUBLICATIONS  

• A substantial number of articles.
• The textbook: VAT for Lawyers: A Guideline
• The textbook: CGT: A Guideline
• Lexis Nexis' Exchange Control & Tax Amnesty Handbook
• Lexis Nexis' book 7 Habitual Tax Mistakes

  HISTORY  

• born 6 November 1962 in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe
• 1960/70's Schooling Years
  • 1968 Sent to boarding school at very English styled Lilfordia at 5 yrs old
  • 1971 Father aged 63 died when 8 yrs old
  • 1974 Prefect final year preparatory school & 1st team swimming 11 yrs old
  • 1977 Relocated to South Africa 14 yrs old
  • 1979 Finished schooling at St Stithians College
    • Bilingualism Prize
    • Industry Prize
    • Merit Award for Biology Project
    • 1st Team Water-Polo
    • First Class Pass
    • Matriculated at 16 yrs old, turned 17 in that November
• 1980's Tertiary education years
  • 1980 left home at 17 yrs old
  • 1981 Attended Witwatersrand University Bachelor of Arts (Law)
  • 1983 Commenced Articles of Clerkship, studied part-time
  • 1985 Attended part-time University of South Africa Bachelor Procurationes (Law)
  • 1986 Commenced formal tax career
  • 1987 Married
  • 1989 Daughter Laura born
  • 1989 Attended part-time University of Witwatersrand Higher Diploma in Tax Law
  • 1989 Passed all Attorney's qualifying exams
  • 1989 Various computer courses
  • 1989 Admitted as Attorney of the High Court of South Africa
• 1990's Experience Learning Curve years
  • 1990 Commenced annual tax update lectures for LAWSA nationwide to the legal profession
  • 1991 Son Michael born
  • 1991 Made Director of Attorneys Hofmeyrs, largest 'Afrikaans law firm in the world!'
  • 1992 co-authored the book "VAT for Lawyers"
  • 1992 Elected chairperson of Law Societies of South Africa Tax Matters Committee
• 1993 Commenced attoneys practice for own account
  • Danie Erasmus & Partners Inc
  • 1994 Divorced
  • 1994 Founder of Rand Afrikaans University (now Johannesburg University) Diploma in Tax Practice course
    • Module 1 - Introduction to Income Tax
    • Module 2 - Introduction to Value-Added Tax
    • Module 3 - Property & Tax
• 1996 Diagnosed with Sarcoma Cancer & cured 9 months later
• 1998 co-authored the book "CGT: A Guideline"
• 1998 Launched Public Company
  • HgIC Holdings Limited
• 1999 Launched http://www.taxtalk.co.za/ & http://www.etaxes.co.za/
• 2000 and beyond - Dawning of the Eagle 
  • 2000 Commenced CGT lectures for LAWSA to the legal profession nationwide
  • 2001 Commenced Constitutional Rights of Taxpayer's lectures to the legal and accounting professions nationwwide
  • 2003 Commenced Exchange Control & Amnesty lectures nationwide
  • 2004 Commenced CGT Valuation lectures nationwide
  • 2004 Commenced developing and lecturing Tax Risk Management lectures nationwide
  • 2005 Launched in print magazine TAXTALK
  • 2006 Commenced Gordon Institute of Business Science, Tax Risk Management course at GIBS (top 30 Business School worldwide)
  • 2006 Launched USA Tax Risk Management
  • 2007 Writes and publishes  "Managing the 7 Habitual tax mistakes"