Bills on ‘sugar tax’ and tax exemption adopted in Parliament
The agricultural sector and unions warn of thousands of job losses if the sugar tax is passed, which the Treasury concedes are likely, but not to the extent predicted
Parliament’s finance committee has adopted bills that provide for the introduction of a health promotion levy (the sugar tax) as well as amending the tax exemption for income earned by South Africans working abroad. The health promotion levy is one of the provisions in the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, while the tax exemption provision is contained in the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill. Both bills will be presented to the National Assembly for debate and adoption. There has been intense debate about the health promotion levy, which has been proposed in a bid to reduce the level of obesity and the high incidence of noncommunicable diseases. The agricultural sector and trade unions warned of the danger of thousands of job losses, which the Treasury conceded were likely, though not to the extent predicted. The matter was also discussed in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). An interdepartmental committee consisting of the Treasu...
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