The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane has opposed the proposed budget presented by mayor Nasiphi Moya on Thursday.
Jacqui Uys, DA Tshwane caucus chairperson, said they rejected the new municipal tax, citing that the city aims to supplement its income from higher property tax due to the new valuation roll and city cleansing tax.
While property rates have reduced by 4%, Moya had announced that refuse removal will increase by 4.6% and introduced a monthly fixed charge of R185 for those using private refuse collection.
Tshwane residents will be further burdened
She said this will further burden residents of Tshwane. They will now need to choose between paying utility bills and buying home essentials, she said.
“On Tuesday 25 March, the Democratic Alliance Tshwane Chief Whip, Ofentse Madzebatela, objected to the city’s proposed new tariff in the programming meeting in preparation for council.
“Residents are already under pressure, with regressive income tax increases as well as looming VAT increase,” said Uys.
She had written to Moya, requesting that the mayoral committee go back to the drawing board. They should rather limit expenditure on security companies and water tankers to avoid a city cleansing levy.
Internal capacity building
Moya announced a R70-million reduction in contracted water tankers. She highlighted that the funds are being used to buy municipality water tankers instead of hiring them.
A further R70-million cut in watchmen services was announced. The funds will be diverted to building internal security capacity.
Uys suggested no rise in the tariff applied to each ratable property category relative to the prior financial year. She stated that the city will benefit greatly from increased revenue due to new valuations alone.
Proposal to rather ease residents’ tax burden
“The DA’s proposal to ease the tax burden on Tshwane residents is increasing the proportion of the value of residential properties that are not subjected to property rates from the current R15, 000 to R450, 000. This is closer to the norm adopted by other metros.
“The city should also consider exempting a portion of the value of business and agricultural properties from property rates,” said Uys.
She also highlighted that Tshwane should not introduce any taxes. It must rather focus on law enforcement on theft of electricity and illegal dumping.
“Any government aspires to table a funded budget. But this cannot come at the detriment of the taxpayers. The people of Tshwane are already overburdened with taxes, and the DA will oppose this new tax,” said Uys.
