Cabinet has approved the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection (CIRP), marking one of the most complex and consequential governance undertakings of South Africa’s democratic era. The policy is a significant move...
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Why a balanced budget matters to all South Africans
At the Momentum post-budget breakfast, Momentum Securities CEO Steven Schultz said something that perfectly captures why the debate around our national budget should matter to every South African – not just economists and policy wonks. Schultz...
Great news for savers and SMEs, but don’t be fooled by inflation adjustments
There was a lot of good news in the 2026 Budget Speech for investors and savers, but our personal income taxes remain higher than they should be. Ahead of today’s Budget Speech, I was expecting changes to the tax limits and thresholds for our...
Inside South Africa’s immigration reset
The Department of Home Affairs is proposing significant changes to South Africa’s immigration policy, focusing on merit, skills needed, and direct contributions to the country’s economy. Demonstrating economic merit and contribution to South Africa...
Listen: Unpacking Budget 2025: taxes, spending, and what it means for you
This interview with Chris Axelson, acting head of tax and financial sector policy at National Treasury, will give listeners a window into how Treasury thinks when putting together a tax package. Our conversation provides invaluable insights into...
Taxing us via inflation
Last week was a very strange time to be a financial journalist. Journalists are usually given a copy of the budget before the Finance Minister tables it in Parliament. After spending the entire morning at Parliament writing our stories about the...
Should you be worried about prescribed assets?
The debate around prescribed assets grabs headlines from time to time, but when you cut through the hysteria there is largely a consensus that pension funds could be used to boost infrastructural development in South Africa. The important question...
Public servants can retire early – with conditions
In his budget address on 20 February 2019, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced an early retirement scheme for public servants whereby members of the Government Employees Pension Fund could take early retirement from the fund without penalties....
10 things you need to know about the Budget
How government will raise R36 billion in revenue: Spending will cost more Government has taken the step to increase the VAT rate from 14% to 15%, raising an additional R22.9bn to meet the fee-free higher education costs and reduce debt. This does...
Possible wealth tax
By Hilary Dudley, Managing Director of Citadel Fiduciary Proprietary Limited On 25 April 2017 the Davis Tax Committee (DTC) released a media statement calling for written submissions on the possible introduction of wealth taxes in South Africa....
Previous Articles
Post downgrade, has the sell-off stabilised?
By Mokgatla Madisha, head of Fixed Interest at Sanlam Investment Management. The downgrade by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) of South Africa’s local-currency debt to one notch above junk (BBB-) and its minority foreign-currency debt to junk status (BB) has long been...
Medium-term budget: the upshot of the fees decision
No fee increases, higher taxes In the medium-term budget policy statement, government committed to absorbing the 8% increase in university fees for students from households earning R600 000 or less a year. That means the majority of university students will not see...
Actuaries caution that zero fees may not be feasible in SA context
Actuaries working to find a solution to the problem of education costs in South Africa just don’t see free tertiary education as viable. The Actuarial Society of South Africa has cautioned that while all students should be able to access funding to meet the costs of...
Ratings downgrade: already priced into market
By Dr Adrian Saville, Citadel Chief Strategist During the course of 2016 we believe there is a very good chance that at least one of the major ratings agencies will downgrade South Africa to sub-investment grade. However, there are a number of technicalities involved...
Why GEPF members are cashing in
If you are a government employee, you need to be wary of advisers who recommend that you resign in order to access your pension before retirement. Many commentators have attributed the spate of government employee resignations, just before retirement, as a result of...
Respect is earned, not demanded
Why finance minister Pravin Gordhan has received the public’s vote. An incident at the Budget Speech dinner, held by Old Mutual and Nedbank on the night of the National Budget address, epitomised for me the change that has happened in our country over the last few...
The ins and outs of making a UIF claim
Retrenchments are likely to become even more commonplace in the current economic environment as companies downsize and try to contain costs where possible. If you don’t have retrenchment insurance and need funds to tide you over until you are able to find another job,...
10 things you need to know from the 2016 Budget
A quick summary of some of the major points from finance minister Pravin Gordhan's 2016 budget speech. Future tax No increases to personal income tax or VAT this year but Minister Gordhan is looking for R15bn in new taxes next year and another R15bn the following...
Government employees are not affected by retirement reform
The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has issued a notice to members and pensioners that the new Taxation Laws Amendment Act will not affect their pensions or benefits. As a defined-benefit pension fund, the benefits of the GEPF are already taken as one-third...
Is the potential downgrade to SA’s credit rating overhyped?
By Nazmeera Moola, Economist and Strategist, Investec Asset Management After the events of mid-December last year (now euphemistically termed Nenegate), many investors – both within the country and from foreign ranks – are justifiably concerned about the fate of South...