The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement reveals a budget surplus and reduced wage bill, but it warns of ongoing financial pressures due to modest economic growth projections.
The Budget Review suggests that National Treasury does not intend adjusting the tax brackets for at least another two years.
South Africa’s core fiscal challenge is to get the gap between economic growth and the cost of borrowing back into positive territory.
Financial advisers can guide their clients on how to manage the knock-on effect of rising costs without compromising their long-term financial wellness.
The context to Treasury’s concern is where the arm’s length interest rate is lower than the official rate of interest.
Financial experts from Momentum weigh in on how the Budget may impact consumers and taxpayers.
Here are the government’s proposals for PIT, the medical tax credits, the fuel levies, and the duties on alcohol and tobacco.
A proposed reform will see half the account’s R500bn distributed to a SARB contingency reserve (R100bn) and to Treasury (R150bn).
SARS will apply a top-up tax on profits reported by qualifying South African multinationals operating in other countries with effective tax rates below 15%.
Many fund members are likely to withdraw the seed capital from their savings component.
The Minister of Finance says the R1.4 billion allocation demonstrates the government’s commitment to National Health Insurance.
Changes are afoot to the qualifying criteria for the Social Relief of Distress grant, for which provisional expenditure has been allocated to 2027.
Old Mutual weighs in on how the Budget is likely to affect the country’s credit rating, economic growth, and the capital markets.
National Treasury continues to toe the line between fiscal continuity, consolidation, and declining revenues amid an increasingly stagnant local economy.
Whether the objectives as set out in the Budget are achievable will be determined by the government’s political will to anchor expenditure and put resources to better use.
Not providing tax relief will be a relatively easy way for a cash-strapped National Treasury to collect revenue.
