New laws in the pipeline for this year

Tax injection aim for limping fiscus

The year 2018 could see a number of bills that are before parliament being passed into laws.

The proposed laws to watch out for are the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Draft Bill and Taxation Laws Amendment Draft Bill. The bills, which have been processed by the National Assembly, and are before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), give effect to tax proposals tabled by the finance minister in last year’s budget.

The changes are meant to raise more taxes for the fiscus struggling in the past few months to meet its revenue targets. The tax rate for those who earn more than R1.5-million will increase to 45%. The amendment to the tax laws will allow the introduction of sugar tax on sugary drinks.

The Minimum Wage Bill is before the National Assembly and is expected to be processed this year. The proposed minimum wage is R3 500. The draft law provides for annual adjustment and review.

Another piece of draft legislation still winding its way through parliamentary processes is the Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill, to replace the much-maligned National Keypoints Act.

The Political Party Funding Bill is likely to move from the National Assembly to the NCOP this year. It regulates private donations to political parties. It bans foreign funding and caps individual donations to R15-million a year.

The Expropriation Bill is before parliament. It could be used for purposes such as the extension and construction of roads, and to ratchet up land reform. President Jacob Zuma announced during the 2016 state of the nation address he had sent it back to parliament as there had not been enough public consultation over it.