JOHANNESBURG - ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says his party is still committed to supporting the poor.
Responding to the 0.5 percentage point VAT increase from 1 May, Mbalula says the finance minister made other mitigating measures.
Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday announced that VAT will go up by 1 percentage point over two years.
The split is that 0.5 percentage points will be implemented this year.
Should there be no fiscal change, the other 0.5 percentage points will be implemented next year.
This increase will take VAT to 16 percent in the 2026/2027 fiscal year.
Mbalula says this decision is a carefully measured intervention designed to sustain government revenue without disproportionately affecting the poor.