Readers’ Views

Uber helps make the world a better place in several ways

In “Uber, Netflix, love and taxes” (May 13), Ferial Haffajee responded to a column I recently wrote and mentioned how new tech innovators including e-hailing businesses and digital content streaming services have been operating in an unregulated environment. Ms Haffajee, however, misses the critical point that Uber, among other disruptive tech, is responsibly transforming lives.

While governments around the world have had to work fast to address the speed at which tech innovations are being introduced, Uber has always required that our partner drivers be compliant with existing legislation. At the same time, we have shared data and worked with the government every step of the way to ensure that e-hailing is addressed through proper regulations in the National Land Transport Act Amendment Bill, tabled in the National Assembly in April 2016.

Last month the bill was passed in the National Assembly. It is now on its way to the National Council of Provinces and will then be sent to the president for his signature.

Innovative individuals and companies that challenge the status quo by applying the power of new technologies are frequently labelled “disruptors” but not always viewed in a positive light. The truth is that many of these are often seeking to change our environments for the better. Uber considers itself one such disruptor that is harnessing the potential of our rapidly evolving tech world and using it for transformative purposes.

E-hailing presents an enormous employment opportunity for thousands of job-seekers and has immense potential to change the way cities work. Traffic congestion is a growing challenge as most commuters are single drivers with no passengers. With fewer cars on our roads and greatly reduced demand for the parking bays to which entire city buildings are dedicated, these buildings could be developed into residential and recreational spaces, further reducing the need for long commutes.

As much as Uber is about giving our partner drivers the platform to get riders from point A to point B as safely and conveniently as possible, we are also changing the way people think about and use transport.

Legislation should be enabling and contribute towards improving the quality of the lives of all those who it affects. While we are still engaging the government about some sections of the bill, we believe that, for the most part, it will drive economic inclusion.

The challenge now lies in the government making sure there are sufficient resources to ensure its smooth implementation.

Yolisa Kani, South Africa head of policy: Uber

Tax and taxis

It is true that Uber USA may not pay corporate tax in South Africa, although it probably actually does based on transfer pricing principles. It created employment for Uber drivers, and whether or not they pay tax on such income, they would most definitely pay VAT, and participate in the economy through buying goods, fuel, services, and so on, which, if added up, may be a much larger contribution than seeking corporate tax from a single source.

Johan Troskie, on Businesslive