Government is expected to raise over R2.2 two trillion in taxes over the next financial year.
There are three main sources of tax: Personal, company and Value Added Tax.
But it is personal taxes that make up most of the revenue that government collects.
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But there's a problem.
Personal taxes are paid by South Africans who earn an income.
It's the main tax source making up about four out of every R10 collected from tax.
But there is a problem – a few taxpayers are carrying the burden of many.
There are about 26 million taxpayers registered in South Africa. Of these about a million earn more than R750,000 a year.
Their contributions make up almost 60 percent of all personal tax collected.
Sars has been trying to expand the tax base for a while. But with unemployment at over 30%, there are not enough people working and able to pay taxes.
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What’s more, a growing number of South Africans are leaving the country.
And when they do, they stop paying.
One such individual is Elon Musk. He is the world’s richest man.
Recently, he estimated that he would pay more than 500 billion dollars in taxes over his lifetime.
That’s R8 trillion rand.
And therein lies South Africa’s problem: how do you create business leaders like Musk who will not only create jobs but also boost tax revenue.
- eNCA's Aakash Bramdeo reports