Tag: Sharon Smulders

The good news stemming from the Medium Term Budget Policy statement (MTBPS) is that in 2023/24, South Africa is expected to achieve its first primary budget surplus in 15 years and this will be achieved with no new revenue enhancing measures from 2023/24 onwards. 

Much confusion and debate seems to exist in the market regarding the changes to the access to retirement benefits (pension preservation funds, provident preservation funds and retirement annuity funds) on emigration. The concept of ‘emigration’ and the SARS approval process (via MP336b) falls away from 1 March 2021 and is replaced with the concept of an individual ‘ceasing to be a resident for tax purpose’ in South Africa.

The captain of Ship SA, President Cyril Ramaphosa, can surely see the iceberg that we are heading for and one can almost hear the call go out for us to 'brace for impact'. The iceberg is an economy that is in crisis – an unemployment rate of 42% (using the expanded definition), GDP growth projections down by 7.8%, tax revenue projections at R304 billion less than originally budgeted for, a budget deficit of R709 billion for 2020/21, a current debt to GPD level of 81.8% and debt service costs (interest) currently amounting to 21c in every tax Rand collected.

South African small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) are struggling with weak economic growth, load shedding and crime. The regulatory burden also continues to hamper the growth of these businesses and their employment creation abilities.