NEW INCOME TAX BRACKET
Most high-income earners gloomy about the economy, survey finds
An Intellidex survey shows 81% of high net-worth households feel less confident about the future of the economy following the budget
While hardly unexpected, high-income earners were the least enthusiastic about last week’s budget, which hit them for another R4.4bn over the next year, a survey has found. A new personal income tax bracket for those earning more than R1.5m, to levy tax at 45%, was introduced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his budget statement on Wednesday. About 100,000 people fall in this bracket. A bigger surprise was that the dividend withholding tax rate was also raised from 15% to 20% to discourage individuals from shifting earnings into dividends. The survey of high net-worth individuals was run by consultancy Intellidex. Among those with monthly household income of R150,000 or over, 81% said they felt less confident about the future of the economy following the budget. Only 9% said they felt more confident after the budget. The rest were unsure.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.