TONY LEON: ANC and DA keep expecting milch cows to deliver for largesse
The parties’ manifestos fail to suggest that lucrative posts be axed and bloated municipal payrolls trimmed
A milch cow is defined by the Collins English dictionary as “a source of easy income”. In SA, governments at the national and local levels find that source in middle-class taxpayers and ratepayers — usually the same people. But now the milch cow is variously exhausted, overburdened or fleeing to foreign fields.
In addition to the multiple forms of progressive tax payable by individuals to the national fiscus, on the regressive tax front every taxpayer must also pay VAT on purchases of goods and services. Of some relevance in the run-up to the local polls on November 1, the same taxpayers are also in the main homeowners or landlords and thus liable for the mainstays of municipal financing: property taxes (or rates) and service charges...
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.