Tag: Garth Zietsman

Estimated Tax Freedom Day (TFD) – the day after the country has earned enough money to pay for government – will be on May 14 this year. That is 2 days later than last year’s prediction. The prediction is based on the intended level of tax collection for central government mentioned in the Budget Speech.

South Africa’s tax laws were designed for a high-income society – a result of a long history of the country accommodating a small, wealthy economy, and a large, poor one. But for a country with tens of millions being either unemployed or receiving very little income, being one of the world’s highest-taxed states does not make sense, particularly when small business growth is so crucially important to our economic future.

Congratulations SA taxpayers - you've paid government - now what you earn is yours!

Every Budget is preceded and followed by the mantra that the Finance Minister faced serious challenges. No, that is never true. All Budgets are easy and straight forward. If they promote prosperity, then countries, including governments and the poor, get rich. All that’s needed is for Budgets to raise rather than lower economic freedom scores – more freedom, more prosperity; less freedom, more poverty. It is that simple.

In his Adjustment Budget Speech Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni told us what we already knew. Debt is up and we need to borrow even more, spending will increase, government revenue will be less than expected, the deficit will increase, the economy is expected to contract, and unemployment is higher than usual.

Before you earn a cent, government takes a chunk out of your pay packet in taxes. Today, Saturday 18 May, marks Tax Freedom Day 2019 - the day from when the money you earn belongs to you to fund your and your families' activities and wellbeing.

Every earner is taxed. Through one kind of tax or another, government takes a bit out of everyone’s earnings. This means everyone is forced to spend some months working for government. Tax Freedom Day is the day on which average South African income-earners at last start working for themselves, the day on which they have finally paid their tax bill in full.