MK Party threatens to bring SA to a standstill if VAT is hiked
Hundreds of the party's supporters marched to the Pretoria offices of National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank on Monday.
MK Party members marched to the National Treasury and South African Reserve Bank (SARB) offices in Pretoria on 10 March 2025. Picture: EWN
JOHANNESBURG - The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has threatened country-wide protests if value-added tax (VAT) is raised.
Hundreds of the party's supporters marched to the Pretoria offices of National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Monday.
The country's official opposition party said these entities should play their part and ensure that South Africans don't suffer.
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February's budget was postponed after a disagreement between parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) about a proposal to raise VAT.
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana will have a second go at delivering his speech on Wednesday.
The MK Party said there are other avenues for the government to raise money to fund the budget outside of increasing VAT.
It has proposed raising the corporate tax by one percentage point, introducing a wealth tax for the top 1% of earners, and capacitating South African Revenue Service (SARS), so it can decrease its R800 billion tax gap.
MK Party parliamentary whip Mzwanele Manyi said the party will bring the country to a standstill if the government passes a budget that includes a VAT hike.
“When you touch the poor, you touch President [Jacob] Zuma. When you touch the poor, you cause the country to be ungovernable.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s budget speech, the MK Party said it is open to discussions with the African National Congress (ANC) on supporting the budget provided it doesn’t increase VAT.