South Africa seeks tax boost as higher debt peak forecast

CAPE TOW: South Africa’s finance minister will propose tax changes next year as part of an effort to stabilise public finances that are under strain from a drop in mining revenue, a mid-term budget review on Wednesday showed.

The budget document presented to parliament projected wider deficits over the next three years and saw debt peaking at a higher level than in February when the main budget was tabled.

Revenue collections in the current 2023/24 fiscal year were forecast to be 56.8 billion rand ($3.04 billion) below estimates in February.

The National Treasury said it was committed to spending reductions, moderate tax measures and efficiency gains from merging or closing public entities, some of which have required repeated bailouts in recent years.

“Given the extent of fiscal consolidation required, the Minister of Finance will propose tax measures to raise additional revenue of 15 billion rand in 2024/25 in the 2024 budget,” it said.

The treasury did not spell out what tax measures were envisaged.