Pandemic spurs flight of top earners from debt-laden South Africa

CAPE Town restaurateur Adrian Hochman watched over the years as friends packed up and emigrated, but rationalised that power cuts, the threat of crime and an uncertain future were simply part of doing business in South Africa.

That was before a global pandemic took its toll on Africa’s most industrialised economy. Next year he leaves for Canada.

“That definitely broke the camel’s back,” Hochman told Reuters.

The flight of top taxpayers has long been a thorn in the side of South Africa’s national treasury. But the coronavirus crisis could prove to be a tipping point.

With South Africans still calculating the cost of the worst unrest in nearly three decades after violence erupted last month in the midst of a third wave of infections, even more may now be considering where their future lies.

For the first time since the current tax brackets were established six years ago, Africa’s most