What to expect from Pravin Gordhan’s medium-term budget speech
The fact that the budget’s presenter is facing corruption charges only adds to the uncertainty that clouds the nation’s economic outlook, writes Ettiene Retief
In light of recent political and social instability, the 2016 medium-term budget speech is on everyone’s mind. The fact that the presenter, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, is facing corruption charges only adds to the uncertainty that clouds the nation’s economic outlook. From a national perspective, earnings are predominantly derived from taxes, and each year there is a need to collect even greater taxes. The last several years, projected revenue growth has been low but always positive, even if only in fractions. However, recent events threaten to send the economy into a negative trend. These include the aforementioned corruption charges, the allegations of political motives behind the charges, the potential economic impact of an extended #FeesMustFall campaign, what’s being described as the worst drought in our history, a consistently high rate of unemployment, and an almost certain looming downgrade to junk status by global credit authorities. So to what extent should we expect ...
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