SAFTU demands 45% corporate tax in budget
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) says the treasury should increase corporate tax and stop with austerity measures.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s third attempt at tabling the Budget will be heard on Wednesday afternoon.
It comes after the scrapping of controversial plans last month to raise VAT to 15.5 per cent.
The Minister is expected to outline how the government will fund a R75 billion fiscal shortfall after the doomed attempt to raise value-added tax.
Economists are predicting that Godongwana will introduce a budget that is focused on cutting government spending.
Civil society groups and unions, under the banner People Against Budget Cuts, raised concerns about how austerity measures impact communities in a briefing in Cape Town on Wednesday.
"SAFTU demands that corporate tax must be increased to at least 45%, a wealth tax on individuals with net assets above R10 million, a solidarity tax on high-income earners, and a financial transaction tax on speculative capital,” said SAFTU Secretary-General Zwelinzima Vavi.
"This is not a fiscal crisis. It is a political crisis in the face of elite power. We call for a people's budget that ends austerity and funds public employment.”
The federation also said they want the government to introduce a basic income grant of R1,500.
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