Bold corporate-tax cuts and a job-creation programme are among the main features of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) alternative budget 2007/8, which was unveiled on Monday.
Released each year ahead of the actual budget, to be presented by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday, the DA says its version is ”geared towards boosting economic growth, creating jobs and turning South Africa into a true, open society”.
Presenting the document, DA finance spokesperson Ian Davidson said this needs to be done through increasing investment, expanding exports and improving the domestic-savings rate.
”[These are the] essential ingredients to correct the imbalances in our economy,” he said.
The alternative budget calls for the corporate tax rate to be reduced by 4%, to 25%. It further advocates that secondary tax on companies be halved, ”with a commitment to eradicating the tax at a future date”.
It also calls for the elimination of tax on retirement funds.
The document reiterates the DA’s call for a basic income grant that is ”made available to all South Africans earning less than R7 500 per annum who are not receiving another state grant”.
Davidson said it is also important to concentrate resources on the fight against crime.
Included in the alternative budget are calls to:
- Increase the number of police officers to 205 000, with 150 000 of them engaged in crime prevention;
- Provide additional funding for the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) detective branch;
- Set up an SAPS rural -afety unit;
- Set up a border-patrol unit; and
- Increase funds allocated to securing tourist-attack hotspots. — Sapa