Income tax compensates for drop in company tax
SOUTH Africa’s tax revenue increased by R83.7 billion to more than a trillion rand, the tax collection agency said yesterday, as taxes on personal incomes compensated for a dip in company taxes.
Total revenue grew to R1.07trln in the 2015/16 fiscal year, in-line with the SA Revenue Services’ (Sars) target of around R1.07bn.
The revenue agency said tax on personal incomes, which accounts for the largest share of government revenue at 36.4 percent, increased 10 percent
at 38 points, the RMB/BER business confidence index was still an improvement, if only just, on the 32 points reached in the second quarter.
“The low point in the index may thus well be behind us. Yet, in no way do the fourth quarter survey results imply that a notable economic recovery to R389.3bn.
“This was quite significant, considering the low growth environment we are in,” said group executive at Sars, Randall Carolissen.
Africa’s most industrialised country is forecast to grow at only 0.5 percent in 2016 by the Treasury, with major sectors of the economy contracting due to a lack of demand locally and abroad.
In his October budget, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan predicted wider budget deficits up until 2018/19.
is upon us.
“Rather, the results continue to point to a ‘muddle-through’ scenario where growth, in all likelihood, continued to move broadly sideways at a low rate in the second half of the year.
“After considerable increases in the third quarter, confidence dropped back in the
Collections from corporate tax, while up from a year ago, shrunk as a total of revenue, growing to R193bn from R185bn in the previous year.
“Companies are still carrying forward losses from the previous period,” Carolissen said, referring to last year.
South Africa, hard-pressed to push up revenues and bring down spending, dodged downgrades of its debt to sub investmnet grade by Fitch and Moody’s over the weekend. S&P Global Ratings is due to give its review on Friday. – Reuters motor and retail trade sectors in particular, and to a lesser extent in the wholesale trade.
“Sentiment among manufacturers remained unchanged at a still depressed level, while the building sector was the only sector that sustained an increase in its BCI.” – Additional reporting by Reuters