The new laws deal with excise duties, anti-avoidance, and evaluating the impact of increasing VAT.
In February 2018, former Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba first announced the three tax proposals that President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially signed into law this week.
South Africa’s three newest tax laws are:
The Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Act gives effect to significant tax proposals including, changes in tax rates and monetary thresholds, excise duties on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products and an increase in the VAT rate from 14% to 15%. It also puts consequential proposals that were announced in the 2018 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), like zero-rating of white bread, flour, cake flour and sanitary pads, into practice.
The Taxation Laws Amendment Act deals with technical and anti-avoidance measures aimed at forcing certain taxpayers to cease using certain tax planning techniques that have an adverse effect on the amount of taxes available for collection.
The Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act contains tax proposals that are technical and administrative in nature. It also contains a consequential amendment, proposed by the Standing Committee on Finance that requires the Minister of Finance to evaluate the impact of the VAT rate increase on revenue collection and the poor.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni also introduced the Carbon Tax Bill to Parliament for consideration in November.
The bill is part of SA's commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Mboweni described the bill as a "benefit" for all of South Africa, and part of the country's contribution to the world, given the threat climate change poses to humanity.
