Tag: sin tax

We cannot tax our society into behaving better. No matter how much we would like to believe otherwise, it remains ineffective. Behaviour-adjusting taxes, like sin taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, have failed to curb excessive smoking or drinking. The sugar tax has placed a heavier financial burden on the working class. However, it has not achieved its intended behavioural change.

Committing to maintaining sustainable public finances proves to be challenging amidst a geopolitically tense global environment, less favourable growth in the global economy, and persistent energy and logistics obstacles locally. These factors collectively jeopardise government revenue growth, widen the budget deficit, and increase the country's debt ratio.

The 2024 Budget was tabled to Parliament on 21 February 2024 by South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Tax Pocket Guide Honourable Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula His Excellency,...

The National Budget delivered by South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, showed that government is making some significant financial commitments to restore Eskom to viability and maintain social grants. But with GDP growth projected at 1.4% on average from 2023 to 2025, and a potential tapering-off of the commodities boom over the medium term, how will government fund these commitments?

All taxes are wealth taxes. All taxes imply the transfer of wealth from the individual owner to a government agency. The only difference between taxes is the tax base or event upon which the tax is levied, and the difference between the total burden borne by the taxpayers and the amount of revenue actually received by the government.

The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, delivered the 2022 Budget to parliament. Discussed below are key highlights from the 2022 Budget Review:

Sometimes the focus should not be on what was said, but rather on what was left unsaid. The Supplementary Budget tabled by Minister Tito Mboweni on 24 June 2020, centred around the potentially disastrous trajectory of South Africa’s fiscal affairs.

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 we approach Budget Speech Day on 26 February 2020, many people are wondering what kind of rabbit Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is going to pull out of his hat this year. Most commentators will talk about ‘bracket-creep’, sin taxes and an increase of 1% to the VAT rate. But the Minister needs to start becoming a little more creative.

As expected, this was a conservative budget with no sweeping changes to most forms of taxation. The Finance Minister took advantage of some new revenue sources such as carbon taxes, but, for the most part, continued to stick to the script of limiting bracket creep adjustment, sin taxes and fuel levies to raise more money.