SA’s shrinking middle class
New research shows that while the poor have been hardest hit by the pandemic, middle-class and high-earning South Africans —the mainstay of the country’s tax base — are also taking financial strain
12 August 2021 - 05:00
There is worrying evidence that SA’s middle class and tax base may be shrinking while the number of the poor and unemployed continues to grow rapidly. This trend appears to have begun well before the pandemic, but has likely been made worse by the Covid crisis and the latest unrest.
The implications are concerning, as this would suggest that SA is becoming a less sustainable proposition and that the country’s public finances are going to remain under intense pressure over the coming years...
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