A basic income grant could add 0.5% to GDP growth by 2025, according to a report commissioned by the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
Analysts agree that economic relief for the poor is needed but are split on whether a grant should be permanent and whether it is affordable
This content is restricted to subscribers only.
Join the M&G Community
Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.
Subscribe
Subscription enables:
- – M&G community membership
- – independent journalism
- – access to all premium articles & features
- – a digital version of the weekly newspaper
- – invites to subscriber-only events
- – the opportunity to test new online features first
Already a subscriber?
Login here.
ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing
Experts offer their advice about what Finance Minister Tito Mboweni should focus on in next week’s budget speech
The pandemic’s economic fallout will affect the world’s poor for years, while the richest billionaires increase their wealth, an Oxfam report notes
In response to “No-one should be as rich as Elon Musk”, Mail & Guardian 20 January
To simplify complex inequality into a single statistic doesn’t address how to accurately assess (or reduce) South Africa’s large wealth divide
A response to the article ‘Tax the superrich and raise inflation to cut state debt, inequality and poverty’ in the M&G on 10 November
More wealth taxes may soon be a reality for east African countries in the wake of Covid-19
The richest 10% of South Africans own over 85% of all private wealth and a once-off 25% tax would reduce government debt by more than half. Imagine what a five-year wealth tax could do
We cannot return to the pre-coronavirus crisis of unemployment, inequality and poverty. There is a moral incentive for the rich to give up some of their wealth and for the salaries of top earning civil servants, employees at state-owned entities and in the private sector to be cut
Expect to fork out for budget shortfalls, free education and Eskom, but interest rates, fuel and food could provide some relief
Claims that the black middle class is hit hardest by the 45% tax rate are not backed by statistics.
Pravin Gordhan achieved a balance between tax increases and spending cuts, but stealth and wealth taxes are concerning, writes Nazrien Kader.
A wealth tax would bring in an additional R10-billion for government spending, making the rich an easy target for Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
No image available
/ 2 September 2011
Outrage met Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s recent remark that it would be appropriate to tax white South Africans, writes <b>Samantha Vice</b>.
No image available
/ 2 September 2011
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is absolutely right to ask white people to reflect on themselves and their privileges, says <b>Mark Heywood</b>.
<b>Chris Roper</b> now sees that democracy has worked in South Africa. We are truly all equally stupid and greedy.
No image available
/ 26 February 2010
Cosatu has proposed to Parliament that a wealth tax should be imposed on the rich in order to improve the flow of revenue to the government.