Taxes in spotlight ahead of Godongwana budget
Civil
society groups have asked the finance minister not to hike excise taxes.
All eyes will be on Enoch Godongwana on Wenesday afternoon when he tables his maiden Budget Speech.
The Informal Traders Alliance represents over 2-million informal and micro businesses.
Spokesperson Louise Silver says the government needs to treat them as strategic partners.
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"Our customers are already under significant financial pressure we believe that one of the proposals on the table is to apply VAT to some VAT exempt products, yet some products are staples for the informal and micro sector as well as the poorer consumer."
Agri SA's Kulani Siweya says the agricultural sector needs interventions to contribute to GDP growth and boost job creation.
"Government must invest or direct the windfall from commodity boom into areas that will reap long term rewards. Key to this is an investment into the infrastructure and the reduction of the country's debt ratio. The windfall can also be used to insulate the financial pressures on agriculture sub-sectors like wine and sugar cane.”
Godongwana is expected to deliver his speech at 2pm.
