CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s tax agency collected 1.216 trillion rand ($101.3 billion) in the year through March, slightly below target.
Personal-income taxes comprised 38 percent of collections, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Pretoria. Value-added tax contributed 25 percent to the total, he said.The government had forecast 1.35 trillion rand of total revenue in the period, 1.22 trillion rand of which would be from taxes, according to the February budget. The government in November announced an inquiry to probe under-collection of taxes that increased under the leadership of Tom Moyane, who was suspended last month.
Former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba forecast a budget shortfall of 4.3 percent of gross domestic product for the fiscal year. Economic growth for 2017 that exceeded the Treasury’s projection may narrow the deficit by about 0.1 percentage point, Nene said, without giving the final outcome.
