VAT increase may be on the cards for South Africans

JOHANNESBURG - Times are tough for consumers and it's set to get even worse.

Economist Azar Jammine predicts government may be forced to increase VAT.

South Africans are already struggling with rising inflation and interest rates and stagnant salaries.

"For the consumer experience in the coming months will get tighter, interest rate has risen nearly by 5% for the last two years and employment has not pick up and economic growth is becoming under pressure," Jammine says.

"We see all the indicators that consumer spending is now starting to take strain," he says.

Jammine says the rise in interest rate has now resulted in consumers taking up more credit and the government might be forced to increase the VAT.