Treasury feels households’ pain as tax collection falls far short, budget statement shows
Revenue collection fell R23bn short of what was projected in the February budget, with R12.5bn of this shortfall coming from personal income tax and R8bn from value-added tax (VAT). The latest tax revenue forecast of R1.3-trillion for 2016-17 — compared with the February budget’s forecast of R1.324-trillion — was due to "significant reductions in major tax bases, including wages, household consumption and imports", the medium-term budget policy statement said. For the first half of the year tax revenue grew by 7.4%, against the initially projected 10.1%, but the Treasury expects some recovery in the second half. The economic contraction in the first quarter of 2016 had led to lower personal income tax receipts. "The average year-on-year personal income tax growth in the first two quarters of 2016-17 was below the rate required to achieve the 2016 budget target," the statement said. Whereas the budget forecast personal income tax revenue of R441bn, this has been revised down to R429b...
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