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Monday 08:00 - 16:30 Tuesday 08:00 - 16:30 Wednesday 08:00 - 16:30 Thursday 08:00 - 16:30 Friday 08:00 - 14:00

Pieterse Sellner Erasmus TRM Tax Attorneys

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Pieterse Sellner Erasmus TRM Tax Attorneys

We are a boutique firm of Tax Attorneys with unmatched industry expertise.

29/10/2026

Selling your company?

In Company AF the Tax Court applied the general anti-avoidance rule to a dividend strip, and the judgment changes how sales, acquisitions and restructures should be planned.

Schalk unpacks the judgment, the Constitutional Court's Absa decision and what it means for your next deal.

If you would like an interim assessment of your own transaction at no initial charge, email [email protected].

Read the full article: https://trmlaw.co.za/tax-cafe/selling-your-company-company-af-dividend-stripping-gaar/

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

26/10/2026

Meet Karlie Venter | Attorney

Karlie Venter is a tax attorney at TRM and runs the firm’s Rustenburg office.

Her work involves helping clients navigate tax problems and their dealings with SARS.

She particularly enjoys helping someone who arrives feeling overwhelmed understand the situation and see a way forward.

She is also, by her own admission, particularly good at not accepting no for an answer.

That turns out to be quite a useful quality when your working day involves SARS.

The determination extends beyond the office: Karlie has run the Comrades Marathon.

Taking on a demanding challenge and sticking with it is clearly familiar territory.

There is, however, one thing she would like clients to understand.

If a problem took 20 years to create, the first five minutes of the consultation may not be enough to fix it.

Getting the necessary documents together matters too. The “extremely urgent” matter can become rather less straightforward when it takes approximately 100 follow-up emails to get them.

We will mention no names.

Her colleagues know her for taking on a challenge and finding the humour somewhere along the way.

Away from tax and running, she bakes, spends time on the farm and prefers the bush to the beach.

Her hidden talent?

Apparently so well hidden that even Karlie has not found it yet.

We would have suggested long-distance running, but we’ve already given that one away.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

23/10/2026

Meet Lauren Grootboom | Paralegal

A court paper does not simply appear, beautifully prepared, filed on time and in the correct place.

There is usually a Lauren involved.

Meet Lauren Grootboom, one of the people working behind the scenes at TRM to keep the wheels turning.

From preparing court documents and managing deadlines to coordinating appointments, organising files and communicating with clients, Lauren makes sure the many moving parts of a legal matter come together.

She describes her role as being “almost like a project manager”.

We would remove the “almost”.

Case status update? Lauren.

Invoice query? Lauren.

Documents that need to get somewhere? Lauren.

Appointment that needs to be arranged? Probably Lauren.

But the job involves more than keeping everyone organised.

Legal matters come with deadlines, pressure and plenty of unexpected developments. Lauren enjoys the problem-solving side of her work and takes pride in helping matters run smoothly, even when things get busy.

She also enjoys working with clients, listening to their concerns and being part of an environment where there is always something new to learn.

Her colleagues know her for managing tight deadlines, paying attention to detail and being someone the attorneys can rely on.

Her practical advice to clients?

Keep your documents organised and dated from day one.

When a dispute arises months or even years later, a proper paper trail can make an enormous difference.

And if her job came with a warning label?

“Caution: High risk of sudden panic over deadlines and filing of court papers.”

Fortunately, keeping everyone else's deadlines under control is something she does rather well.

Lauren also wants people to know that she is not always serious.

She has a sense of humour.

We are told it exists.

Outside work, you will usually find her spending time with friends and family, enjoying good food or watching Netflix.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

22/10/2026

We were delighted to have our Managing Director, Schalk Pieterse, join SAIPA’s The Modern Accountant 2026 conference as a speaker.

A big thank you to Dawn Bouwer, Tia van der Sandt and the entire SAIPA team for organising such a professional and engaging conference. It was a pleasure to be part of it.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

19/10/2026

Meet Eddie Sellner | Executive: Tax Advisory

Meet Eddie Sellner, one of TRM’s named partners and the head of our Debt Management Department, specialising in tax debt compromises.

With BCompt and LLB degrees, registration as a tax practitioner and 29 years of experience, Eddie has been around the tax block more than a few times.

That experience has taught him something you cannot learn from a textbook: how to see problems coming, anticipate SARS’s next move and find practical solutions before matters get out of hand.

Tax debt compromises are his speciality. These matters require a sound understanding of the law, a careful assessment of the taxpayer’s financial position and the ability to negotiate a workable outcome with SARS.

But Eddie’s contribution goes well beyond compromises. Whether a client faces a difficult tax problem or a colleague needs guidance, he is usually one of the first people they turn to.

We asked what he is really good at.

“Errthing.”

After 29 years, we will allow him that one.

For Eddie, the best part of his job is making a difference in people’s lives. Every client brings a different set of circumstances, and no two matters are ever quite the same.

One thing he wishes more clients understood? How much happens behind the scenes. The smile may make it look easy, but there is plenty of work, pressure and problem-solving that nobody sees.

His advice to business owners is simple: meet with your accountant at least once a month. Know where your business stands and where it is going.

Around TRM, Eddie is known for being approachable, generous with guidance and exceptionally good at eFiling.

And if his job came with a warning label?

“I will ask for supporting documents.”

Consider yourselves warned.

Outside work, Eddie plays golf and tennis, watches TV and sleeps.

He listed sleeping twice.

We have respected its importance.

Eddie Sellner
Schalk Pieterse
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

16/10/2026

Meet Nomava Gush | Administrative Assistant

Meet Nomava Gush, our Administrative Assistant. Nomava supports the team with filing and helps at reception when needed. She also provides basic secretarial support, helping the office run smoothly.

Nomava spends much of her day making sure correspondence, documents and information find their way to the correct matter.

It sounds simple until you consider how much documentation can move through a tax law firm, particularly when a dispute with SARS has been running for months or years.

Finding the latest email and recognising a matter by its client number are part of her skill set. She enjoys working independently and takes pride in knowing where to look.

That care helps the team locate the correspondence it needs and keep track of a matter’s history. Behind the legal work is someone making sure the records are in order.

Give her the number and she knows where to start.

Send an email without one and you may hear about it.

Her approach is also one we like:

Deal with the problem before it arises.

Prevention is considerably easier when somebody knows where the documents are.

What is Nomava known for at TRM?

Being one of the faces of the firm.

Taking selfies.

And, unsurprisingly, wanting the correct TRM number on your email.

Outside work, Nomava spends time with her family, bakes and dances with her daughter.

She can also sing!!

So far she has resisted combining the singing, dancing and filing into a single service offering.

We have asked.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

16/10/2026

We spent Friday, 18 September, in East London with SAIPA, discussing some of the SARS issues accountants and their clients face in practice.

The session covered VAT registrations, estimated assessments, Rule 56 notices and tax debt relief, with plenty of practical questions and discussion along the way.

It was also good to meet so many professionals afterwards and to continue some of those conversations beyond the presentation.

Thank you to SAIPA for the invitation, and to everyone who joined us on the day. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in East London.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander
SAIPA - South African Institute of Professional Accountants

12/10/2026

On the 17th of October, our Managing Director, Schalk Pieterse, will be speaking at The Modern Accountant Conference 2026, hosted by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA).

Schalk will present Tax in Transition: VAT Developments, SARS Modernisation and Recent Dispute Cases, exploring the latest VAT developments, changes in SARS processes and recent tax dispute cases shaping the profession.

As tax legislation and SARS procedures continue to evolve, understanding these changes and their practical implications is essential for accounting and tax professionals.

We look forward to the conference and to Schalk sharing his insights with fellow professionals.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander
SAIPA - South African Institute of Professional Accountants

12/10/2026

Meet Milanie Pieterse | Finance Manager & Tax Practitioner

There are people who like numbers.

Then there is Milanie.

Milanie is TRM's Finance Manager and a SARS registered tax practitioner, dealing with everything from expatriate regularisation and AIT applications to cessation of tax residence, VDP matters, tax administration, returns, operations and legal accounting.

In other words, if it involves numbers, SARS, a spreadsheet, or something that needs reconciling, it will likely end up on her desk.

Her philosophy is simple:

If she does not know the answer, she will find it.

Her other advice is equally simple:

Do not ignore SARS.

Tax problems have an unfortunate habit of growing quietly in the background until the small problem has become, in Milanie's words, an “uncontrollable monster”.

Fortunately, TRM apparently employs dragon slayers.

Behind the scenes, her work involves late nights, detailed reconciliations, checking, rechecking and occasionally being interrupted halfway through a complicated financial trail.

We do not recommend the last one.

Milanie claims that colleagues may be surprised to learn that she is actually a nice person.

We can neither confirm nor deny this.

Outside the office she runs, spends time with family and friends, and drinks w**e.

When asked about a hidden talent, she answered:

“Aside from drinking w**e?”

The Finance Department has declined to provide further comment.

Milanie Pieterse

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

08/10/2026

Meet the office.

You’ll be meeting the whole team, but we also want to share our places and spaces.

TRM Tax Attorneys started in a garage flat in McCallum Drive, Port Elizabeth, with Schalk and Rudolf in 2010. New clients were seen at the dining room table, while Ouma Milla and her Staffy, Doortjie, gave each of them a second consultation they hadn't asked for.

The firm started with R3,400 investment (only), meant for stationery and files. They spent it on a HiFi. The HiFi lives on.

Today we work from offices we own, and we take pride in every square metre. The tax law has only become more complicated since the garage. But the parking has become a lot better.

We have grown well beyond the Bay. Half of our team now works from Cape Town, and we have offices in Stellenbosch, Durbanville, Rustenburg and a consultation office in St Francis. You will meet those buildings and spaces soon.

But every one of them grew from here. Port Elizabeth is our root and the foundation of everything we have built since, and we are grateful for it.

What good is a space if you never share it? An office is only walls until people fill it. So here are the rooms, and the people who fill them: the desks where SARS disputes are untangled, where clients sit down worried and stand up with a plan, and where the team debates, tests and refines the thinking that goes into every matter.

A word on the photos. They look good enough that someone will ask which AI made them. None did. Real people, real advice. In a time when almost anything can be generated, we think ‘genuine’ and ‘authentic’ is still worth posting.

Thank you to Esmerelde Photography for capturing it.

Port Elizabeth, thank you for being home.

Schalk Pieterse
Eddie Sellner
Wynand Neveling
Leanne Wium
Rudi Stander

Address

2nd Floor, Wembley Square 3, Cnr Mckenzie & Glynn Street, Gardens
Cape Town
6001

Opening Hours

Monday	08:00 - 16:30
Tuesday	08:00 - 16:30
Wednesday	08:00 - 16:30
Thursday	08:00 - 16:30
Friday	08:00 - 14:00

Website

http://www.trmlaw.co.za/

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