Johannesburg – Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has announced that government has set aside R10,3 billion rand for the fight against the Coronavirus global epidemic.
Delivering his budget today, Mboweni said provincial departments of health would be allocated R2,4 billion of the R10,3 billion to administer the Covid-19 programme.
“Government will also put in place a no-fault compensation fund to cover claims in the unlikely event of any severe vaccine injuries, allocations to which will be announced in due course,” Mboweni said.
The finance minister, who emphasised that this was not an “austerity budget”, painted a grim picture of the country’s financial position, warning that government’s growing debt would lead to future tax increases.
Have you read: Budget2021: R9 billion cash injection for COVID-19 vaccine programme
He advised Parliament that the SA revenue Services (SARS) was expected to collect R1,21 trillion in taxes – which is about R213 billion less than our 2020 Budget expectations.
“This is the largest tax shortfall on record.”
Mboweni said the country’s finance were “dangerously overstretched”.
The country’s borrowing requirement would remain well above R500 billion in the next three years, with the gross loan debt increasing from R3.95 trillion in the current fiscal year to R5.2 trillion in 2023/24.
Also read: Budget2021: Less smoke and hangovers as excise duties go up
“We owe a lot of people a lot of money. These include foreign investors, pension funds, local and foreign banks, unit trusts, financial corporations, insurance companies, the Public Investment Corporation and ordinary South African bondholders. We must shore up our fiscal position in order to pay back the massive obligations we have incurred over the years,” he said.
Mboweni also announced fuel levies will be increased by 27 cents per litre, comprising 15 cents per litre for the general fuel levy, 11 cents per litre for the Road Accident Fund levy and 1 cent per litre for the carbon fuel levy.
He also noted that there would be an 8 per cent increase in the excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products.
With immediate effect, the increases were as follows:
- a 340ml can of beer or cider will cost an extra 14c
- a 750ml bottle of wine will cost an extra 26c
- a 750ml bottle of sparkling wine an extra 86c
- a bottle of 750 ml spirits, including whisky, gin or vodka, will increase by R5.50
- a packet of 20 cigarettes will be an extra R1.39c
- 25 grams of piped tobacco will cost an extra 47c
- And a 23 gram cigar will be R7.71 more expensive
You may also be interested in: Budget2021: Relief for households as Treasury revises tax brackets
– SAnews.gov.za
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