Budget | Citizens benefiting from only a quarter of spending
Is it time for ‘a proper austerity budget’ that will free up funds for growth-boosting infrastructure projects and service delivery?
#Budget2025
Budget | Fitch questions Treasury’s fiscal consolidation narrative
National Treasury forecasts a narrowing deficit, from 4.8% of GDP in 2025/26 to 3.8% in 2026/27. Fitch, however, projects larger deficits of 5.1% and 4.5% respectively.
Municipal crisis: mismanagement threatens service delivery and financial stability
Recent reports and the Budget Overview expose deep flaws in local government, prompting urgent calls for debt reforms and stricter accountability.
Constitutionality of the minister’s power to amend tax rates remains untested
UCT tax lecturer Ben Cronin argues that by allowing the minister to amend the income tax rates by announcement in the Budget, Parliament has overstepped its competence, eroding the doctrine that places legislative authority firmly in its hands.
Tight-lipped Treasury braces for tough Budget to plug R75bn shortfall
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana won’t reveal where the spending cuts or savings will come from but says South Africa must “do more with less”.
Coalition politics hampered Budget consensus, says Godongwana
South Africa’s credibility among investors and ratings agencies will depend on whether the government meets the fiscal targets it has set, says Treasury.
VAT hike halted – but legal uncertainty keeps SA on fiscal edge
Tax specialist Louis Botha answers pressing questions about the suspended VAT increase and its broader implications for budget-making power and taxpayer rights.
Budget 3.0 coming after court-backed VAT suspension and new Rates Bill
SARS tells vendors there is now no legal basis for them to charge consumers VAT of 15.5% from 1 May.
Godongwana given 30 days to revise Budget after VAT reversal
The ANC and the DA present South Africans with different versions of what led to the decision to halt the increase.
Godongwana says VAT court challenge is politics in legal clothing
The finance minister defends the VAT hike as an urgent fiscal necessity, warning that suspending it could blow a R13.5bn hole in the Budget.
Retirement pot withdrawals could undermine long-term savings
Danie van Zyl of Sanlam Corporate Investments warns that allowing access to retirement components in retrenchment cases might jeopardise long-term savings and place added pressure on trustees.
Experts warn reversing VAT increase may be impractical
Once implemented on 1 May, undoing the VAT hike could prove nearly impossible. Even if Parliament later votes against the Rates and Monetary Amounts Bill, the logistics of refunding the collected VAT present formidable challenges.
Proposal to tweak ‘bona fide inadvertent error’ in favour of SARS
The move will limit taxpayer defences that rely solely on claiming an unintentional mistake.
Godongwana reassures Ithala’s depositors with R2bn guarantee
The minister’s address to the FSCA conference also touched on regulation, South Africa’s G20 presidency, political tensions over the Budget, and economic growth.
Higher VAT will impact business operations and consumer spending
The Minister of Finance cites an average 19% VAT among peers to argue that South Africa’s 15% rate is low, but isolated comparisons miss key factors such as exemptions, corporate rates, and overall business costs.
VAT hike | Guidance for businesses on supply rules and timing
How the general and specific time-of-supply rules will determine whether transactions fall under the existing 15% VAT rate or the increased rate.
How SARS arrives at R800bn in uncollected tax
Commissioner Edward Kieswetter explains to Parliament why ‘between R700bn and R800bn is not an unreasonable amount’.
