On 16 December 2022 Thato Brown (‘Thato’), a South African resident, passed away. Thato was born on 2 April 1960. At the time of Thato’s death, he owned the following assets:

• Shares in a listed company valued at R550 000 inherited by him from his sister, Amanda Brown. Amanda Brown passed away on 6 November 2018 at the age of 70 years. The net value of Amanda Brown’s estate was R1 192 000, and the estate duty paid was R48 000. Various bequests were made by Amanda Brown to the members of her family. The residue of her estate comprised of shares in listed companies valued at R200 000 and was left to Thato Brown. These shares were bequeathed to Thato’s daughter, Lucia Brown, who was 32 years old at the time of Thato’s death.

• An insurance policy valued at R410 000, was bequeathed to Thato’s son, Gavin Brown, who was 37 years old at the time of Thato’s death.

• Cash of R923 000.

• An apartment in Port Elizabeth valued at R3 150 000. Under Thato’s last will and testament, he bequeathed the use of the apartment for 8 years to his granddaughter who was 17 years old at the time of Thato’s death. After 8 years, the use of the apartment is bequeathed to Thato’s daughter, Lucia Brown. Lucia Brown was 32 years old at the time of Thato’s death.

• Furniture valued at R321 000, bequeathed to Thato’s daughter, Lucia Brown.

• Paintings to the value of R630 000, bequeathed to Thato’s daughter, Lucia Brown.

• The usufruct in a block of flats in Johannesburg, with a value of R4 320 000. Thato inherited from his mother the net income for his lifetime of this block of flats in Johannesburg. The block of flats itself was left by Thato’s mother to Thato’s daughter, Lucia Brown (her granddaughter), who would, upon Thato’s death, acquire full enjoyment of the property. The value of the bare dominium inherited by Lucia Brown was R264 000

Other information:

• Funeral expenses of R35 670; valuation fees of R8 600; executor’s remuneration of R25 600 and master’s fees of R6 700 were paid by the executor of Thato’s estate.

• Under Thato Brown’s last will and testament, he bequeathed R35 000 to a church (a recognised religious institution).

• Thato Brown’s wife passed away in March 2018. The net value of her estate was R3 000 000.

REQUIRED: 2.1. Calculate the estate duty payable, before any rebates, on the estate of Thato Brown. Show and reference all your calculations clearly. 

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

To calculate the estate duty payable on the estate of Thato Brown we need to follow the South African estate duty rules and take into account all the ... View the full answer