ANDREW RUSSELL: Sugar tax is an economic millstone for independent cane growers
The continued existence of this tax and the prospect of the planned 2025 increase remain a dark cloud over the industry
SA’s economy is not growing quickly enough. In the 2024 budget speech, finance minster Enoch Godongwana said the economy only grew 0.6% in 2023. Earlier in 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its economic forecast for SA to only 1% in 2024, far lower than the 3.8% forecast for Sub-Saharan Africa. Godongwana expects average growth of 1.6% per year between 2024 and 2026, but this is meagre when compared to our peers.
Though the IMF lays the blame on SA’s energy and logistics crises, any South African can add to these reasons: a weak exchange rate, rising fuel costs, inflation, ballooning public debt and an onerous tax burden...
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