No image available
/ 22 February 2008
The reduction of corporate tax from 29% to 28% is a welcome relief for companies entering a far more difficult economic environment. The tax burden on corporates has been increasing since 2000, despite the nominal tax rate dropping from 30% to 29% over the same period.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
Provinces will receive R238-billion this year, a whopping 16% higher than last year’s allocation. By 2010/11, provincial budgets will have doubled on their 2004/05 levels. All increases to key portfolios outstrip inflation by significant margins. But will they spend it well?
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
Analysts say that Transport Minister Jeff Radebe has made all the right noises about public transport being the legacy of the 2010 World Cup and, if the budget is anything to go on, the Cabinet fully endorses his view. Trevor Manuel has allocated R6-billion to building public transport infrastructure over the next three years.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
The government has promised Anglo American that its mining rights will be renewed under new rules governing the industry — even as data summarised in the budget shows just how badly regulatory barriers continue to limit South Africa’s ability to cash in on the biggest commodities boom in living memory.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
Undoubtedly one of the budget’s highlights was the removal of exchange controls for institutional investors, all but dealing a death blow to exchange control. Under the new provisions, foreign investment will be guided by prudential investment guidelines rather than the laager mentality that has driven exchange-control legislation.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
The long and extraordinary political career of Fidel Castro is over — at least as far as the presidency is concerned. But his enormous influence will live on. His regular columns for Granma, the state newspaper, will continue. For Cubans and international observers alike, they will still bear close reading, writes Ignacio Ramonet.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
This budget was expected to deliver solutions that would put at bay fears of slower GDP growth because of inadequate energy resources. However, the budget proposals fell short of providing incentives that will lead to the behaviour changes needed to make South Africa more energy efficient, writes Réjane Woodroffe.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
A friend in the United States who watches Barack Obama tells me that he, unusually for a politician, has Mandela-like qualities in that he acts as a unifying force, finding common ground on which to build consensus on the way forward. We could well do with someone with Mandela-like qualities now.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
The African National Congress has called for the sacking of a senior council official who blew the whistle on alleged abuse of power and corruption in a R1-billion 2010 stadium project. The apparent attempt at a cover-up follows a damning report by independent attorneys on the alleged corruption, which was leaked to the Mail & Guardian.
No image available
/ 22 February 2008
The housing war raging in Delft between about 2 000 homeless backyard dwellers and the government’s housing agent, Thubelisha Homes, the city and the police, has manifested as a racial fight between African and coloured people. But the cause of this war can be traced to the decision to build the controversial N2 Gateway housing project and the political fights between the ANC and a city led by the DA.