Budget Archives - Voice of the Cape

Economist says VAT should no longer be raised

With the South African Revenue Service (SARS) collecting nearly R10 billion more than expected, economist Dawie Roodt believes a 0.5 percentage point increase in value-added tax (VAT) is unnecessary. The proposed VAT hike is expected to be a key point of contention in Wednesday’s parliamentary vote on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's national budget. Roodt highlighted SARS’s recent success in ensuring greater compliance among personal income taxpayers. “Unfortunately, we have a […]

2 April 2025

Local

Consumer expert says Ramadan should be about financial reflection

As the Crescent Observers Society of South Africa are to announce when Ramadan commences on Friday evening, a consumer expert stated that the holy month should not only be about spiritual upliftment but also about financial reflection. Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Friday morning, consumer expert Moesfiqah Botha said that those embarking on the holy month but plan according without overspending. “We should not be incurring debt during this month […]

28 February 2025

Local

Economists says government must tackle municipal debt to boast economic growth

Economists believe that government debt is alarmingly high and rising faster than economic growth. Speaking on VOC Breakfast, Economists Ulrich Joubert said the minster’s speech tackled top priorities such as the economic outlook, taxation, job creation, and the energy crisis. “The speech was both positive and negative. We saw that the economic growth lowered to 1.1% which means we will see slower growth. Our current debt is a huge problem, […]

31 October 2024

Local

Police Minister Mchunu determined to crack down on gang violence scourge

Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu has placed gang-related crimes top of his list of priorities for the next five years. Mchunu, who was recently moved to the police ministry, outlined his major focus areas on Monday. In the 2022/23 financial year, police recorded over 800 gang-related murders in the country, with more than 80% of them being in Western Cape. Mchunu said its rise in parts of the country is […]

16 July 2024

Local

Data shows devastating impact of basic food price increases

LOCAL Crucial items in the food basket, such as bread and milk, contribute to more than half the Household Food Basket. This is according to data from the Household Affordability Index. Programme Coordinator, Mervyn Abrahams says transport, debt servicing and electricity is also being prioritized over groceries. It comes as South African consumers are battling against increases in the fuel price, as well as inflation and interest rates. Consumers are […]

10 November 2022

Local

EFF members to march to Parliament ahead of the Budget Speech

LOCAL Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) members and supporters are expected to march to Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday morning ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech in the afternoon. The party is among others opposed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank loans to bail out the country’s economy. EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo says the party is not expecting anything new from Godongwana. “We expect further […]

23 February 2022

Local

Cosatu vows to push back against proposed wage cuts

Trade union federation Cosatu has labelled the 2020 Budget "provocative", saying that instead of a clear diagnosis of the problems facing SA, National Treasury attempted to "dump the bill for industrial-scale looting on public servants". A key item in the Budget was a proposal to cut the state's wage bill by R160.2 billion over three years. Treasury proposed cuts of R37.8 billion in 2020/21, R54.9 billion in 2021/22 and R67.5 […]

27 February 2020

Local

SA bankers criticize proposal for commercial state bank

Representatives of SA's banking and financial services industry say they are finding it difficult to understand government's rationale behind establishing a commercial state bank. Delivering the Budget in Cape Town on Wednesday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said government would proceed to establish a new state bank whose "architecture will be that of a retail bank operating on commercial principles". "The state bank will be subject to the Banks Act, and […]

27 February 2020

International News

Lebanon passes budget critics call ‘useless piece of paper’

Lebanon's parliament on Monday endorsed a 2020 budget that analysts say does little to address the country's economic and financial crisis, during a controversial session that protesters had attempted to prevent from taking place. Some opponents deemed the budget unconstitutional because it was referred to parliament by the cabinet of former prime minister Saad Hariri shortly before it was brought down by massive protests that first swept the nation on […]

28 January 2020

Budget

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