Tag: FiscalPolicy

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) recently surpassed R2 trillion in net revenue collection for the 2025/26 fiscal year. This milestone marks the highest revenue collected in the country’s democratic era. It also highlights SARS’s commitment to effective tax administration. In particular, SARS continues to enforce sanctions for non-compliance through SARS’ targeted compliance programmes. Despite several challenges, SARS has maintained strong performance.

The National Treasury’s long-awaited 2026 tax amendment Acts have now been promulgated. These 2026 Tax Amendments introduce a focused set of changes to South Africa’s Value Added Tax (VAT) and Income Tax frameworks. As a result, these amendments carry immediate practical consequences for taxpayers, employers and investors.

The 2026 National Budget Speech was delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on 25 February. He delivered the 2026 budget speech against a backdrop of complex fiscal trade-offs. South Africa continues to face high debt-servicing costs. As a result, the government’s capacity to act as the primary buffer against economic shocks has become more constrained. Therefore, the 2026 budget speech highlights the growing importance of shared responsibility across the broader economy.

We note that the government has dropped the planned additional R20 billion from individual taxpayers. We welcome that decision. However, this outcome stems from the commodities boom that has saved our necks. What will happen in 2027 if that commodities boon disappears? The question remains whether that boon will continue to flow into the deep, dark pit of government spending.

South Africa’s 2026 National Budget has delivered targeted SME relief for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This includes a significant increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) registration threshold. It also introduces enhanced capital gains tax exemptions for qualifying business owners.

In 2024 nominal average per person income in the UAE was US$ 49,400, roughly eight times that of South Africa’s US$ 6,250. On global rankings for GDP per capita, the UAE is among the top 25 countries, while South Africa ranks around the 110th, indicating the degree to which the UAE is ahead in relative living standards.

This year's national budget was delivered against a more supportive domestic backdrop. Export commodity prices were firmer, energy availability improved and funding pressures eased modestly due to lower government bond deals. In many respects, this was an encouragingly stable budget. It signals that South Africa is steadily moving toward a better fiscal space.

Budget Day 2026 may have lacked drama, but beneath the surface it delivered a series of quietly positive tax developments. Rather than introducing aggressive new revenue collection measures, the National Treasury opted for stability, targeted relief and structural adjustments that favour taxpayers, savers and small businesses.

South Africa’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) is a key mid-year fiscal update that reviews performance against the February Budget. It also reallocates spending where needed and recalibrates priorities for the year ahead.

If South African tax were a fable, it would feature three enduring characters: the weary taxpayer, the watchful SARS, and the elusive concept known as certainty. All three appear in our legislation, but only one consistently shows up in practice - SARS.