Sappi InTouch 18_04

Sappi Head Of ce Internal Newsletter
Budget 2018:
How will it affect you?
Last week, now former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba delivered the 2018 budget speech. In Gigaba’s own words, it was a tough, but ultimately hopeful speech focused on the importance of restoring and rebuilding in a testing time for SA.
28 February 2018
Ex-employee celebrates 100 years
R
Here are some of the speech highlights that will directly impact South African consumers:
VAT increases from 14% to 15%
For the rst time since 1993, VAT is going up. As of 01 April 2018, VAT will increase by 1 percentage point (from 14% to 15%).
What does this mean for consumers? In nutshell, average- to high-income earners will be paying more for goods and services as VAT vendors increase their costs to accommodate higher VAT.
Fortunately, there should be minimal impact on low-income consumers as current zero- rated basic goods items (eg maize meal, brown bread, dried beans and rice) will remain unchanged.
To counter the impact on vulnerable households, social grants will see an average increase of around 7%.
Slight tax relief for lower earners
There will be a small (3.1%) increase in tax rebates on personal income tax for those
in the bottom three income tax brackets. That means a slight tax relief for consumers earning R410,460 per year (R34,205 per month) or lower.
The 3% rebate increase, however, is still below in ation. This means that overall consumers will still be paying more. The top four tax brackets remain unchanged.
No wealth tax, but pricier smoke breaks and commutes
Over the past year, there’s been much speculation over the introduction of Wealth Tax. High earners and land owners can breathe a sigh of relief that no explicit
land tax or annual net wealth tax were announced.
We’ll all, however, be paying more for our morning commute, zzy drinks, smoke breaks, and luxury goods retail therapy:
• Higher fuel levies: Bad news for
motorists as the fuel price increases by 52 cents per litre (20 cents for general fuel, 33 cents for the Road Accident Fund levy)
• ‘Sin’ tax up 10%: Expect to pay 6% to 10% more for alcohol and 8.5% for cigarettes
Ex-employee Winnie Uys, mother of former Sappi Librarian Mary-Ann Uys – turned 100 on 20 February this year.
Most people can only dream of reaching the ripe old age of 100. Winnie Uys, an ex-Sappi employee at Enstra Mill – and mother of ex-employee Mary-Ann Uys (former Librarian at Sappi Head Of ce and the Technology Centre) – celebrated this incredible milestone on 20 February 2018.
In a Brakpan Herald newspaper article, she singled out her Sappi long service award (for 38 years’ service) as one of the highlights of her life. “I was the head of the invoicing department at Sappi and had quite a few people working under me,” Winnie proudly told the newspaper reporter.
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28 February 2018
Budget 2018 (continued)
• Sugary drink tax is coming:
Consumers can expect to pay an additional 11% for sugary drinks as of 01 April 2018
• Excise duty on luxury goods: Up from 7% to 9%
• Estate duty: Increased from 20% to 25% for estates over 30 million.
Medical tax credits remain, with adjustments
Medical expense tax credits will remain for the next three years.
In 2018, medical tax credits for the rst
two bene ciaries will increase from R303 to R310 per month, while credits for remaining bene ciaries increase from R204 to R209 per month.
Expect more below-in ation increases in medical tax credits over the next three years, as these will be used to fund the rollout of national health insurance.
Free higher education and better schools
R57 billion has been allocated to provide free tertiary education at universities and TVET colleges for rst-year students with a family income below R350,000 per year. Returning NSFAS university students will also have their loans converted
to bursaries.
Additional funding has been allocated to build and upgrade schools, provide water and sanitation, and roll out meals to around
9 million learners through the National school nutrition programme.
For personalised nancial advice, speak to a Summit consultant today:
Telephone 087 806 1011
info@summiti n.co.za www.summit n.co.za
Article by Summit Financial Partners
How to claim from Admed Gap
Admed Gap is a short-term insurance policy provided by Sappi to assist members with shortfalls relating to certain claims not being fully covered by their medical scheme.
Should you need to claim for a bene t under the shortfall cover and/or the lumpsum bene ts, the following procedure should be followed.
Admed Gap claims procedure
1. Submit all claims to Admed Gap within four months from the date of service. If the claim is not submitted for the rst time within four months, it will be rejected.
2. Fully complete the most recently updated Admed Gap claim form.
3. Depending on what bene t you are claiming for, there are supporting documents that must accompany your claim. The list of documents you need to submit is clearly indicated on the claim form.
4. Send your fully completed claim form, with supporting documentation, to:
[email protected]
5. Admed Gap will contact you if they require additional documentation. The claim will be closed if the requested documents are not received within 28 days.
6. A closed claim may be reopened and processed if the requested documents are received within one year.
7. Once the claim is processed and approved, the claim will be paid into the bank account of the principle member for payment to the relevant providers. Claims cannot be paid directly to service providers.
8. The member will receive a claims statement from Guardrisk indicating the payment/rejection.
All claims to be submitted to [email protected] within four months of date of service.
What supporting documents are needed?
1. All claims require the medical aid claims statement, relevant to the speci c claim, to be submitted with the claim form.
2. A copy of the rst two pages of the hospital account showing admission dates.
3. A copy of the doctor accounts if the claim relates to a shortfall in medical practitioner costs.
4. A copy of the histology reports, oncology treatment plans and medical aid statements for the cancer shortfall and/or lumpsum bene ts.
5. A death certi cate for the accidental death bene t, accident report and/ or disability report for the disability bene t.
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28 February 2018
Up close with...
Karen van Heerden (Corporate Facilities Manager)
Karen with one of her Yorkies, JP. “Our dogs (kids) always go on holiday with us”.
1.What makes you happy? Married life and our four-legged kids:
Lily-Bean (a Basset hound), two Yorkies Ivy and JP and our recent addition, a kitten called Romi. I also love gardening and enjoying a glass of ice cold Boschendal Blanc de Noir afterwards. On a work level, I love sharing knowledge and helping where I can.
2.How do you deal with stress? I’m pretty much a stress junkie. The more I stress, the more I frown, and then I
go quiet ... head down, typing faster and faster and losing track of time, until the stress factor is sorted out and dealt with.
3.What is your most treasured possession? One can go deep
and get nostalgic, but for me personally, it’s a vehicle with air conditioning. If the vehicle can be my dream car – a Suzuki Jimny, it would be an absolute bonus.
4.Who is the person in history you admire the most? “A
winner is a dreamer who never gives
up” – Nelson Mandela. He has been an inspiration to young and old, no matter your circumstances. He was living proof of his beliefs.
5.What is your favourite book/ movie? James Patterson’s Murder
Club Series and Patricia Cornwell. Top Gun is my ultimate favourite movie of all times. I watch it at least once every two years, with music blasting and jet planes landing.
6.Share a hidden gem in SA that is worth the visit. Do yourself
a favour and visit Willeen’s Restaurant in Kassiesbaai, Arniston in the Western Cape. Best bobotie ever!
7.What was your rst job? A typist at the old Iscor in
Voortrekkerhoogte, Pretoria.
8.Which talent would you most like to have? Weird, but I always
wish I could have been an ice hockey player.
9.What character trait do you value most in a person?
Honesty. No matter who you are and what your responsibilities are, we all make mistakes. Valuable lessons are learnt from making mistakes.
10. What can’t you live without? My morning coffee and rusk.
11.What are your strengths? Perseverance and persistence.
What don’t people at Sappi
Karen is an avid competitor in open water swimming events such as the Midmar Mile. Here she is joined by a student which she sponsored for the Dischem Swim, one of the important races to precede the Midmar Mile.
Who should be featured next? You can nominate
Who at Sappi Head Of ce would you like to know more about? A senior manager, a quiet colleague, someone everyone deals with, or one of our execs? We invite you to nominate speci c people you would like to
see featured in the ‘Up Close with...’ column.
Send your suggestion/s to
[email protected]
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know about you? At school I used to write my class mates’ essays in exchange for chocolates. Chocolate is my weakness.
What excites you about
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working for Sappi? Endless career possibilities and opportunities.
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Snacks to munch on
Feeling pekish? Why not support the canteen by ordering any of the following items:
Small coffee and cake – R35
Small coffee and doughnut – R24
Mini cheese platter – R28.50
Bilton and dry wors – R30 per packet Red cakes or lamingtons – R7.50 each Assorted salads
Assorted lled wraps and sandwiches
Things we can all do
about disability
1. Find out more about it. The World Health Organisation estimates that 15% of a population experience disability. It can affect all of us.
2. Cultivate respect. Discrimination and negative attitudes are the biggest barriers people with disabilities face.
3. Ensure access to health and welfare. People with a disability have the same general needs as others.
4. Promote rehabilitation and disability services. Rehabilitation, early childhood intervention and assistive technologies make a difference.
5. Support inclusive education. Lifelong learning for, and with, people with a disability is a path to an equitable society.
6. Champion employment. People with a disability can work, want to work and have bills to pay, like everyone else. Support disability inclusivity in the workplace as a value-adding form of diversity.
7. Create an inclusive environment. Ensure access to buildings, transport and public places. Barriers block inclusion – speak up when you spot them.
8. Enable and empower people. People with a disability play sport, create art, get married, study and work. Encourage skills development and focus on each person’s ability.
9. Acknowledge their rights. As equal citizens of the world, support these rights and promote them.
28 February 2018
Note: Limited stock available
Pour yourself a cuppa
If coffee is your beverage of choice, you’ll love the offerings available in our coffee machines at Head Of ce. Here is what you can choose from:
} Restreto – an extraction of 25ml of coffee (single shot of coffee)
} Espresso – extraction of 45ml of coffee (also known as a double shot of restreto)
} Coffee (black coffee), also known as an Americano/ Long Coffee: normally the machines is pre-set to 180ml of coffee. It is set-up that way so that you can add cold water or milk if you like
} Flat white – this drink is normally served as 180ml of coffee, with a hot milk top-up
} Cappuccino – foam milk with a shot of Espresso
} Latte Machiato – served with a portion of foam milk and
then topped up with a shot of Restreto
} Caffe Latte – gets served with hot milk and then hot foam. Topped up with a shot of Espresso
} Milk portion – add milk foam to your coffee. The button is set for 10 seconds
} Hot water – this is for the tea drinker in the of ce. The button is programmed for 200ml.
HAPPY
To You
01 Christinah Sibiya 02 Josephine Mostert
06 Nompumelelo Mpungose
07 Jaysalen Govender 07 Sylvia Valent
14 Michelle Thain
16 Waseem Agherdien 18 Peter Hoole
18 Brenda Tennant
20 Revada Benjamin
20 Cornelia Botha
20 Brian Percival
21 Katherine Dawson 23 Fergus Marupen
23 Nonyameko Sincadu 26 Louann Naicker
27 Roland Agar
28 Tashmeen Authar 31 André Oberholzer
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BIRTHDAY!


28 February 2018
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