The Minister of Finance acknowledged that, notwithstanding increases in tax rates since 2016, tax revenue as a proportion of gross domestic product has started to decline.

Therefore, in order to limit the negative impact on economic growth, the 2019 budget proposals will not increase taxes in any category, but will rather aim to increase collections by not adjusting for inflation and improving the efficiency of SARS.

To achieve this, the following proposals were tabled:

• the appointment of a new Commissioner for SARS in the near future;
• the re-establishment of the Large Business Unit;
• the investigations by the Illicit Economy Unit of potential tax-related offences in high-risk sectors (such as the tobacco industry) in relation to activities highlighted by various commissions of enquiry;
• strengthening the information technology systems of SARS;
• harnessing opportunities arising from information-sharing agreements between national tax authorities; and
• the appointment of an inspector-general for tax administration.

Click on the button below to download the 2019 KPMG Budget Summary document. 

Commenting on the new vehicle sales statistics for the month of January, 2019 – NAAMSA said that domestic new vehicle sales had started the year on a weak note principally due to lower than expected new car sales.

Aggregate domestic sales at 42 374 units had declined by 3 398 units or 7.4% from the 45 772 vehicles sold in January last year.

In contrast, export sales had started the year on a relatively strong note with January 2019 export sales at 18 289 vehicles which reflected a substantial improvement of 4 160 vehicles or a gain of 29.4% compared to the 14 129 vehicles exported in January last year.

See links below for the full media release from NAAMSA and statistics for January 2019 Industry New Vehicle Sales.