David Ansara | Chief Executive | Free Market Foundation | mail me |
We have announced 16 May 2025 as this year’s Tax Freedom Day: the moment when hardworking South Africans finally stop toiling to pay their taxes, and start earning for themselves.
We have marked this day since 1997 to shine a light on the tax burden shouldered by ordinary taxpayers. Tax Freedom Day on 16 May means that the average South African has laboured 136 days – over a third of the year – to fund government spending.
Tax Freedom Day – working for the state till May
South Africa’s tax burden has climbed to nearly 37% of GDP, up from 30% in 1995 when Tax Freedom Day fell on 23 April.
Every rand you earn until mid-May goes to taxes – whether it’s income tax, VAT, or fuel levies – before you can spend on your family, home or dreams. Taxes don’t just take money; they shrink opportunities. Taxing activities like earning or buying reduces jobs and drives up prices, hitting workers and small businesses hardest.
– Prof Richard J Grant of Cumberland University, Tennessee and Senior Associate at Free Market Foundation
Our Liberty First (LibertyFirst.co.za) initiative, launched to champion economic freedom, found that South Africa’s international economic freedom ranking has plummeted since 1994, and advocates for free markets, secure property rights and less government interference.
16 May as a reminder of spending on bloated SOEs
Imagine a country where your earnings stay in your pocket longer, where entrepreneurs can create jobs without red tape and where prosperity lifts everyone.
Every year, Tax Freedom Day reminds us how much of our sweat and sacrifice goes to the state. Through Liberty First, we’re advocating for policies that let you keep more of what you earn and build a brighter future.
– Dr Morné Malan, Deputy Head of Policy at Free Market Foundation
We opposes wasteful spending, like bloated state-owned enterprises that continue to drain hundreds of billions, and ideologically driven taxes that chase away investors. South Africa needs policies that grow wealth, not tax it away.
For 50 years, we have advocated for individual liberty, private property and free enterprise. Let’s make Tax Freedom Day come sooner. Together, we can build a South Africa where your hard work pays off for you, not just the taxman.
View explainer video HERE.
