JOHANNESBURG - With less than a day to go before the eagerly awaited budget speech, all eyes will be set on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's much anticipated address.
The speech was delayed last month due to conflict over the proposed VAT hike. The minister has suggested scrapping the Social Relief of Distress Grant in exchange for zero VAT hike.
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According to MaxProf Senior Director Africa Mthimkhulu, it’s going to have a far-reaching and devastating effect in terms of the goods and prices, the price of basic goods, unless there are other means to expand the exempted goods.
Tertia Jacobs from Investec Economist added: "The key issue is that the government allocates spending towards current spending that would be like compensation on goods and services and a component that goes into infrastructure.”