OPINION - Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has surprised financial experts, analysts and the markets. The analysts were confidently predicting an austerity Budget. But Mboweni did what many thought impossible: a Budget without spooking the markets and well received by the public and business community. How did he do it with the fiscus so constrained?
Everyone was expecting personal tax and VAT to go up. Mboweni did not do either.
He targeted reckless government expenditure and was determined to bring it down. He took a gamble and boldly slashed the hefty public sector wage bill. This will not go down well with public servants. A battle looms, causing disruptions and further deterioration of public services.
Despite talk of not bailing out SOEs, the government has dished out R162billion in the past year to corrupt public entities. Eskom and SAA will get billions more. We understand the strategic nature of Eskom, but SAA? The Budget was cleverly crafted to attract foreign investors and to stimulate growth.
But what made me chuckle with glee was that men of the cloth can no longer flaunt their wealth without paying the taxman. What’s so special about them that they should be exempt from tax? It’s about time they paid their dues.
T Markandan Kloof
Daily News
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