- The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group warns that an increase in Value-Added Tax (VAT) would disproportionately affect the poorest South Africans.
- The National Treasury is considering increasing VAT to fund the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant.
- The group estimates that a basic basket of 44 items that currently costs just over R5000 could increase by six percent with the proposed VAT increase.
- The group’s Programme Co-ordinator, Mervyn Abrahams, explains that this would include essential items like maize meal, bread, cooking oil, chicken, potatoes, and onions.
- Increasing VAT on these food items would mean that households would have less money.
- In 2022, VAT helped deliver R41 billion in tax revenue in South Africa, according to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter.
Source: sabcnews.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
