LOOKING BACK

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES 50 YEARS AGO

In an unprecedented move, the powerful Trades Union Council of South Africa has called upon the Government to come to the aid of industry “before it’s too late”. The TUC claims that unless the Government grants certain fiscal concessions to South Africa’s key industries, they will be knocked out of world competition and may never recover. “Much of the emphasis in the national economic policy, particularly with regard to fiscal handouts, should be diverted from the Government’s decentralisation programme and placed on carefully selected groups of growth industries because we cannot afford to fall behind for even 12 months,” says the TUC’s economic adviser, Bob Kraft. — July 19 1970

FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES 25 YEARS AGO

South Africa’s high taxes, exchange rate restrictions and import policies put its economy on the “same level as Cyprus and Morocco”, says a report by the Stanford Research Institute in Washington. Branding South Africa’s tax regime as “not friendly to investors”, the report, commissioned by Nedlac, says corporate income tax is “quite high” compared to other countries. When VAT and other customs duties are added in, these various taxes combine to create a significant burden on SA business and “a deterrent to foreign investment”. The report does not include a section on export processing zones, but gives examples of EPZs in countries like Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan. — July 16 1995