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/ 16 February 2006
Shares in petrochemicals group Sasol slumped 8,3% on Wednesday, following Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s unveiling of an investigation into a windfall tax. Sasol shares were trading at R227,50 shortly before the Budget speech but then fell to R209.
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/ 16 February 2006
In more comment on the national Budget for 2006/07, the South African Communist Party is pleased that company tax was not cut, though the African Christian Democratic Party disagrees; Absa says the Budget is good for the property market; and an economist says the Budget is "on balance good".
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/ 16 February 2006
In the Medium Term Expenditure Framework delivered in October last year, Trevor Manuel announced that projections for the budget deficit over the next three years would be substantially lowered from about 3% to about 2%. In Wednesday’s Budget he reduced this even further to 1,5% for next year, falling to 1,2% by fiscal year 2008/09.
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/ 16 February 2006
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel understandably celebrated South Africa’s economic fortunes and placed a surprisingly high degree of faith on the global economy. Unveiling his 10th Budget this week, Manuel restated the government’s widely praised sound stewardship of the economy.
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/ 16 February 2006
The government has chopped tax on retirement funds by half, to 9%, saying it is prepared to make further cuts to stimulate savings. However, it wants the 9% to be used as a carrot in wider discussions about reforming the life industry. Minister of Finance told journalists at Parliament that the national Treasury would release a document proposing significant changes to retirement funding provisions.
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/ 16 February 2006
Over the past 10 years, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has charmed taxpayers by continually providing greater tax relief. This year is no different and individuals will pay R12,1-billion less tax once adjustments have been made for reduced vehicle allowances.
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/ 16 February 2006
The government finally appears to be noticing small business, tabling a range of tax breaks and benefits in the Budget to stimulate the second economy. Don Moody, a spokesperson for Cofesa, a body that supports small business, says the tax breaks and benefits are a step in the right direction.
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/ 16 February 2006
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel indicated this week that the troubled Road Accident Fund is in line for major surgery. But the government’s fix is facing heavy opposition from lawyers associations and politi-cal parties who say the new policy might be challenged in the Constitutional Court. The Treasury has given the fund a R2,7-billion bail-out to keep it going.
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/ 16 February 2006
The Richtersveld community and state-owned diamond miner Alexkor have concluded a framework agreement that lays out terms for the settlement of the massive land claim launched in 1998 against the company. In terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the claimants and the company, the community will get a large stake in Alexkor.
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/ 16 February 2006
”South Africa, as most everyone knows, has a lot of crime. What fewer people appreciate is that, at about 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the R50billion we’ll spend on criminal justice in 2006/07 is about three times more than the international average,” writes Antony Altbeker, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies.