Some political parties urge Godongwana to cut govt perks, not hike personal taxes or VAT

CAPE TOWN - Political parties have put forward their suggestions to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, with some calling for the slashing of government perks and no personal tax increases.

While sin tax faces another increase as per usual, parties are nervous that Godongwana will hit South Africans with a higher tax burden when he tables his budget on Wednesday.

Godongwana will deliver the first budget under a Government of National Unity (GNU) during tough economic times for citizens, coupled by low economic growth and high government debt.

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It won’t be an easy budget for Minister Godongwana, who has to juggle a number of priorities from ensuring government debt is addressed and also maintain the tax base which funds most government activity.

But parties have urged him to rather focus on cutting government perks instead of increasing personal or corporate tax and VAT. 
 
Democratic Alliance (DA) finance spokesperson, Dr Mark Burke, said tha South Africans were already struggling with a high cost of living crisis.

"South Africans are already struggling under the cost of living crisis and to further burden our citizens would be completely unacceptable."

ActionSA MP Alan Beesley agreed: "ActionSA is emphatic in our views that any tax increases in the upcoming budget must be rejected."

Good Party secretary-general, Brett Herron, said that implementing a basic income grant "should be priority number one", saying that the reason the country could not afford it "is because its budgetary system doesn’t enable it".