Tag: National Treasury

National Treasury has published another draft bill to formalise the tax relief measures available in response to the devastating covid-19 pandemic. It is hoped this will clarify uncertainty and offer some relief during these tough times.

President Cyril Ramaphosa presented the five-level, risk-adjusted strategy that will guide South Africa’s emergence from lockdown. As the finer points of the strategy were shared, it became clearer how - and when - certain sectors will once again gear up into activity.

Following announcement of the actions taken by government to combat the COVID-19 crisis, many South Africans may be aware of the proposed tax measures that are effective from 1 April 2020.

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of fiscal relief for certain taxpayers, in light of other measures imposed to combat the COVID-19 crisis, National Treasury published explanatory notes on 29 March 2020, which outline exactly how the tax system will be used to ease financial distress during these times.  

Moody’s cut both the local and foreign currency-denominated debt from Baa3 to Ba1 and retained the negative outlook. Their statement highlighted South Africa’s deteriorating fiscal situation amidst very weak economic growth, saying: 'The key driver behind the rating downgrade to BA1 is the continuing deterioration in fiscal strength and structurally very weak growth.'

With severely limited fiscal space, planned economic reforms need to be fast-tracked. South Africa is in a grip of panic over the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The situation prompted an extraordinary address to the nation by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the evening of March 15. Apart from very real human health concerns, he commented that the outlook for the local economy – already on a weak footing heading into 2020 – is a big headache. Economic growth forecasts have been cut over the past few weeks as forecasters realise that the impact of the pandemic will be larger than previously thought. This begs the question: how will local authorities respond?

Budget statements have in recent years perennially made downward revisions in economic growth projections. Disappointing growth outcomes compared to official forecasts is partly attributed to the inability to implement planned structural reforms that would have delivered improved growth outcomes.

As most South Africans eagerly awaited some reprieve from a year of constant and negative bombardment, be this over matters such as a massively contracted economy, rising unemployment, state capture, rising corruption and the threat of expropriation of property without compensation, many had hoped to return from their annual vacation rested, and hopeful to hear some positive news. This did not happen.

Public sector staff expands and retail jobs disappoint. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on that South Africa’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 29.1% during the fourth quarter of 2019. With this reading, South Africa has the fourth-highest unemployment rate out of 182 countries tracked by Trading Economics, after Namibia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Angola.

The South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury have become aware of an increase in payroll deductions in recent years. Stakeholders were engaged to create a regulatory framework to govern payroll deductions and the resulting proposal has led to three very limited options on how companies can govern employees’ payroll deductions.