Tag: tax base

With the budget speech being delivered in an election year, I expect to hear populist promises and over-optimism which is geared more to voters than the financial markets. We will need to scrutinise the numbers coming out of the budget very carefully to see if Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget proposals are viable and achievable given the country’s high debt burden and strained tax base.

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.

The latest iteration of the NHI Bill has confirmed what South Africans have known for more than a decade: that taxes will need to rise to fund the government’s unworkable and unfeasible NHI scheme. During these dire economic times, the NHI tax will be the final nail in the coffin for cash-strapped consumers struggling to make ends meet.