Tag: Tax Freedom Day

We have announced 16 May 2025 as this year’s Tax Freedom Day: the moment when hardworking South Africans finally stop toiling to pay their taxes, and start earning for themselves. We have marked this day since 1997 to shine a light on the tax burden shouldered by ordinary taxpayers. Tax Freedom Day on 16 May means that the average South African has laboured 136 days – over a third of the year – to fund government spending.

The premise of Tax Freedom Day is relatively simple to understand. It takes the total amount of taxes paid and divides it by the number of individuals in that jurisdiction to calculate how many days it would take them to pay those taxes. The first day of the year when all the income would remain with its owner is Tax Freedom Day.

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.

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.

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.