Uncertainty remains about some key aspects of the proposed carbon tax despite the mid-December release by the Treasury of a second draft Carbon Tax Bill for comment. The tax, which is designed to meet SA’s international climate-change commitments by putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions, was postponed several times, partly because of the weak state of the economy. The tax is likely to be passed on to consumers in the price of goods and services. The Treasury is inviting public comment on the second draft by March 9. The implementation date would be announced in the 2018 or 2019 budget. The previous draft proposed introducing the tax in phases at an initial rate of R120 a tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. With offsets, it would be about R6 to R48 a tonne. The rate is unchanged in the second draft, with reduction for certain industrial businesses, fugitive emissions, trade exposure and carbon offsets. To ensure the price of electricity is unaffected in the first phase, the elec...
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