Mmusi Maimane: 'I feel VAT is in some ways a tax for past 10 years of thorough corruption'
Will we see a VAT increase come 1 May?
FILE: Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane. Picture: Jacques Nelles/EWN
CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Mmusi Maimane, the leader of Build One South Africa, about their proposed budget plan, which seeks to eliminate a VAT hike.
Listen to the audio below:
While Parliament is in recess, Maimane says the Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, will meet next week.
"So it does not mean that Parliament has stopped working in that sense."
- Mmusi Maimane, Leader - BOSA
He says the committee is also looking at all legal processes that will allow for the opportunity to reverse the VAT decision.
"Because by law, if the minister can pronounce on an increase in taxation, it must go to common sense that he should be able to withdraw that decision."
- Mmusi Maimane, Leader - BOSA
"One of the things that we are fighting for South Africans, so that this does not go ahead."
- Mmusi Maimane, Leader - BOSA
He adds that VAT is not the only issue; there are concerns about income tax bracket creep in terms of inflationary pressure and how to eradicate wasteful expenditure.
Maimane explains that a legislative process must take place to enable the levying of sin taxes on the extensive gambling sector. He has engaged with the Minister of Trade and Industries regarding the change in law to include all online gambling.
He believes that they will have made progress in bringing this revenue within six months, by the time of the medium-term budget.
BOSA believes the big ticket items that will trim the fat include reforming bodies like the Road Accident Fund to save R20 billion, freezing hiring of middle and senior government positions to save R16 billion, and cutting 2% of provincial bureaucracies to save R15 billion.
Reducing the size of the Cabinet is also a hot potato.
"There is no doubt. We have probably one of the largest Cabinets in the world... One of the things we can do is remove this notion of deputy ministers. And even if you keep someone and give them the title of deputy minister, we can adjust their salary and stop giving them the perks... like VIP protection which just keeps ballooning."
- Mmusi Maimane, Leader - BOSA
"I feel VAT is in some ways a tax for the past ten years of thorough corruption."
- Mmusi Maimane, leader - BOSA
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