KZN social group calls for more VAT-free food items
An anti-poverty group in KwaZulu-Natal is appealing to government to expand the list of VAT-free basic food items.
The Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action has made the call ahead of tomorrow's hefty fuel price increases.
Petrol will go up by as much as R1,34 a litre at midnight and diesel by 82-cents.
Consumers are also paying 9.4% more for electricity from this month.
The agency's Nqabakazi Mathe says the average household spends almost half its income on food and lights.
This is why they're putting pressure on the government to add more Vat-exempt items to the basic foods list.
"Essential foods are foods that no household can survive without - that's brown bread, dried beans, rice, fresh fruit and vegetable and vegetable oil, milk and eggs, as well as legumes. These are basic foods that we eat everyday. You will expect that when you go to the shops - these foods will not be vatted."
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