Taxman at your door
25 February 2020
An analysis of the latest tax collection data from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) shows that tax revenue is well behind expected budget projections.
In 2018/19, national government collected R57.3 billion less than projected in the 2018 Budget, and R14.5 billion less than set out in the 2019 Budget. This was the largest under-collection since 2009/10, following the Global Financial Crisis. The bulk of the shortfall was the result of weaker than expected economic growth, which is unlikely to improve much in the near term — in January, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) estimated 2019 GDP growth at 0.4%, and a rise to a modest 1.2% in 2020.
Breaking down the tax collection data