Pretoria - Stable. Predictable. Positive. Good for investor confidence. No surprises.
These are the comments of tax experts on Pravin Gordhan's first Budget as minister of finance.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers tax director Charles de Wet, Gordhan managed to avoid drastic tax increases despite the Budget deficit.
This gives De Wet some cause for concern.
How will we fund expenditure, he asks. The deficit cannot, surely, be compensated for by increased efficiency in the public service.
BDO tax partner Kemp Munnik says Gordhan may indeed have given individuals R6.5bn in relief, but at the same time he has taken away almost as much with other taxation.
According to Deneys Reitz tax director Andrew Wellsted, it is noteworthy how much attention Gordhan gave counter-avoidance measures in the Budget.
He identified various sophisticated tax loopholes and said these would soon be plugged.
Wellsted reckons the measures to plug the loopholes will make complex legislation even more complicated.
Johan Troskie, head of tax at audit firm Mazars, says Gordhan will nevertheless demand his pound of flesh through the new taxes.
These include the once-off cost for vehicle owners related to new gas-guzzlers' greenhouse gas emissions, and the possibility of a tax on gambling income.
Subtle other revenues will be sourced from deferred income, which will now be regarded as a taxable benefit, and group life schemes which also become taxable.
The higher petrol price makes the total picture rather gloomy, says Troskie.
De Wet reckons the voluntary disclosure programme is probably aimed at people who in recent years "got behind" in their payments.
He does not expect there to be very many still outside the tax net, or that this opportunity for setting things right will bring the fiscus much revenue.
The window for taxpayers to get their affairs in order starts on November 1 and will remain open for a year.
Health insurance plan
Munnik says various aspects are still shrouded in mystery.
One is the conversion of the secondary tax on companies into a dividend tax. It is clear that the conversion will not happen this year, but there is no indication when it will happen.
It is welcome news that the introduction of a national health insurance plan will be studied over the next five years.
This means that if such a plan is indeed introduced, it would be well thought through, says Troskie.
The possibility of dispensing with estate duty is also in the minister's sights, and must also be welcomed. Gordhan says that the income this produces is modest, and the tax is cumbersome to administer.
- Sake24.com
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