GORDHAN’S FEBRUARY SPEECH
Budget-boosting VAT hike would not surprise companies, says expert
The VAT rate has been politicised, but to bring down public debt ‘we have to take the pain now’
The head of EY’s Africa tax practice has called for the finance minister to be bold and increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) rate by two percentage points in February’s budget, arguing that some large companies have long been readying themselves for the costly exercise of changing systems to accommodate a higher rate. Africa tax practice head Lucia Hlongwane said in an interview this week that basic foodstuffs were already zero-rated to protect the poor and SA’s VAT rate was below the average for the African continent. She said the VAT rate had been politicised, but the challenge was to bring down the public debt and "we have to take the pain now". Most tax practitioners remain convinced that Pravin Gordhan will not go the VAT route to plug the revenue gap when he tables his budget on February 22, with predictions that he will instead get more out of income tax, especially personal income tax, estate duty and a variety of smaller taxes. "Tax hikes across the spectrum are a must," Delo...
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