Sibanye-Stillwater and ArcelorMittal SA ‘totally reject’ carbon tax plans
Big energy users including Sibanye-Stillwater and ArcelorMittal’s local unit opposed plans by SA to enact long-delayed carbon tax laws in 2019, arguing on Wednesday that the levies were unaffordable and should be scrapped or delayed. The carbon tax has already been postponed at least three times since first being mooted in 2010, after mining companies, steel firms and Eskom said the tax would erode profits and push up electricity prices. Former finance minister Malusi Gigaba said in February that Africa’s most industrialised economy would implement the carbon tax from January next year — part of a raft of tax changes that include raising value added tax for the first time in 25 years in a bid to plug a revenue hole. The new law would affect about 1,000-1,500 companies and 75% of national emissions. It proposes a tax rate of R120 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent and states that total tax-free allowances during the first phase until 2022 can be as high as 95%. "Sibanye-Stillwate...
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