THALIA HOLMES
THE BREVITY of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s Wednesday supplementary budget speech gives insight into the amount of fiscal wiggle room he currently has at his disposal: very, very little.
The national debt to the GDP ratio has risen by over 15 percentage points since the last estimate, from 65.6% to 81.8%; South Africa’s unemployment rate tipped 30% in the first three months of the year; tax collection is disastrously low; and the Gross Domestic Product is expected to contract by 7.2% this year.
That constitutes the largest contraction in almost 90 years, and it could be significantly greater, depending on the effects of Covid-19.
It’s safe to say that Mboweni is between a rock and many, many hard places.
THE DEBT AND TAX CRISES|
Gross tax revenue collected during the first two months of 2020/21 was R142-billion, compared to treasury’s initial forecast of R177.3-billion.
As a consequence, gross
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
