Cape Times 2022-04-04

A MODERNISATION programme, administration improvements and efficiency gains boost tax revenue by 25 percent, buoyed by personal income tax, VAT and company tax. The SA Revenue Service (Sars) has vowed to further strengthen tax administration after preventing nearly R210 billion revenue leakage in the 2021/22 financial year. Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said on Friday the efficacy of the taxman’s administrative efforts had resulted in additional tax revenues being collected which prevented revenue leakages from impermissible transactions. Kieswetter said that these efforts contributed R209.7bn for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, including R137.5bn of additional revenue and preventing impermissible refunds and leakages worth R72.2bn from leaving the National Revenue Fund. “Our increased focus on revenue collection efforts is yielding pleasing results. This year I can report that just…

THE PUBLIC Investment Corporation (PIC) has requested an urgent meeting with the Absa Group board following the appointment of a white man, Arrie Rautenbach, as its new chief executive. On Friday, the PIC voiced its disappointment with the appointment, saying that the appointment of a black person could have promoted transformation in the group. The PIC said in its correspondence with the board, that the appointment was a missed opportunity for the board to publicly demonstrate its commitment to “purposefully transform the banking group and advance diversity, inclusivity, and racial and gender equity, at the most senior levels of organisation”. “As a significant shareholder, the PIC had previously recorded its disappointment to the board about the apparent instability at the executive level following the departure of its former chief executive…

MOODY’s Investors Service has changed SA’s credit ratings outlook to stable from negative, which has been welcomed by the government as affirmation of its structural reforms programme. Moody’s on Friday affirmed South Africa’s Ba2 long-term local and foreign currency issuer, and senior unsecured-debt ratings. SA’s ratings status was downgraded to Ba2 with a negative outlook by Moody’s in November, 2020 after the economy entered a deep recession as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and lockdown restrictions. Moody’s lead analyst for South Africa, Lucie Villa, said the government had shown it was able to re-prioritise its spending over the past two fiscal years while staying committed to fiscal consolidation. Villa said the decision to affirm South Africa’s ratings at Ba2 reflected the country’s long-standing credit strengths, including a sound financial…

INFORMAL traders are calling on easing of red tape in government programmes as the Auditor-General on Friday told Par- liament there had only been a 10 percent uptake of a R175 million fund meant to provide relief to spaza shop owners. Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development were told by Senior Manager for Small Business Aphendule Mantinyane that only about R17m of the fund meant to provide relief to spaza shop owners had been taken up while another development fund was farmed out to Nedbank as informal traders showed lacklustre interest. “We need to increase the footprint for these funds because there is very low uptake. The debt relief programme could not assist all applicants and it was then transferred to Nedbank for management purposes,” Mantinyane…

AN INTERNATIONAL study has suggested the government’s plans to develop an extensive gas-to-power sector could likely negatively impact the economy and climate. A study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), entitled Gas Pressure: Exploring the case for gas-fired power in South Africa, said that developing an extensive gas-to-power sector in South Africa from scratch would involve significant investment in both gas supply infrastructure and power plants. The institute said that to introduce the first 3 000 megawatts of gas capacity and gas supply by 2030 could cost at least R47 billion – money that could ultimately be wasted, as gas was likely to be squeezed out of the market by cheaper, low-carbon alternatives. To artificially stimulate local demand for gas, South Africa’s Department of Mineral…

THE relief in the fuel price has been welcomed as a much-needed step to help hard-hit consumers keep their heads above water. The government last week announced a reduction in the basic fuel levy by R1.50 for two months, while pursuing a more permanent and sustainable restructuring measure of the fuel price. The R1.50 adjustment should reduce the general levy for petrol from R3.85 a litre to R2.35 a litre, and reduce the levy on diesel from R3.70 a litre to R2.20 a litre, until the end of May. Spokesperson for trade union Uasa, Abigail Moyo, on Friday said they were pleased with the government’s fuel price intervention and welcomed the possibility of added interventions once the two-month period has lapsed. “The temporary decrease of R1.50 per litre in the…