By Thapelo Molefe
The SA Communist Party (SACP) has issued a warning ahead of the 2025 Budget Speech, declaring that any increase in Value-Added Tax will be met with militant resistance.
“For households living on the pittance afforded by low wages or social grants, every VAT increase strips away what little purchasing power they possess,” the party said on Monday.
Instead of increasing VAT, the government should focus on progressive taxation targeting the wealthy to fund essential public services, it said.
It reaffirmed its commitment to “mass mobilisation of the working class against regressive fiscal policies” and warned that using the Social Relief of Distress Grant as justification for a VAT increase was “unfathomable”.
“The unemployed, both those actively seeking work and those discouraged after years of looking for work without success, must not be used as VAT-increase footballs.”
Similarly, the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) has called for
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