Financial analyst takes on Sizwe Dhlomo ‘fair’ tax increases tweet

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s medium-term budget speech was met with some dissatisfaction from South Africans after the government announced plans to increase taxes.

Mboweni said in his speech on Wednesday the government has projected it needs R5 billion in tax increases for the 2021-22 financial year due to decreasing revenue and rising debts. He also announced another SAA bailout of R10 billion and that public sector employee salary would not increase for the next three years.

But a tweet from Kaya FM radio host Sizwe Dhlomo was a hot button issue. Dhlomo said it was the only “fair thing to do” to increase taxes.

His argument was, where will all the money be coming from other than taxes if the government needs to repay the cost of borrowing?

One follower rejected his argument, saying citizens were already paying high taxes but irregular expenditure and misappropriation of funds had directly affected South Africans.

If there was less inequality, the tax base wouldn’t be this narrow & personal tax would be relatively lower. No one likes paying more tax & it’s not your fault that there’s leakages but in a society, those who have subsidise those who don’t. It sucks but it has to be you & I. https://t.co/N7ozdJKXDa

— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) October 28, 2020

Look guys, it’s the only fair thing to do. https://t.co/5kYChkHG3f

— Sizwe Dhlomo (@SizweDhlomo) October 28, 2020

Sizwe was criticised on Twitter with many thinking his argument was flawed and that raising taxes would not resolve the country’s economic challenges.

Someone said sizwe studied MTV economics pic.twitter.com/s8MdRsJ3af

— izwelakhe???? (@ross_rori) October 29, 2020

Sizwe

You can raise taxes all you want but if your government doesn’t punish corruption you’re just playing games. No amount of Billions can save SA because they steal what must save them.

We need life sentence on corruption. Stealing from the poor must be equal to murder.

— I AM M M A P U L A (@Mmaps_ThePro) October 29, 2020

Sizwe Dhlomo tweets for people who think that poverty is a result of people not working hard enough.

— Nkhluleko Themba Joshua Ndlangamandla (@Ntjosh) October 28, 2020

Paying taxes like a good citizen so politicians kids can create content on IG while we “????????????????”

????????????????

— ukhanki (@TboozeSA) October 28, 2020

Replying to Sizwe’s tweet, popular financial analyst Koshiek Karan said: “There’s absolutely nothing fair about raising taxes and further suffocating citizens to fund inefficient service delivery, questionable statues, a bloated cabinet, dysfunctional SOEs and conceal the impact of corruption. To say a tax increase is ‘fair’ is downright absurd. No amount of timelines or Excel spreadsheets fixes inherently broken governance.

“Pumping more money into an abyss of fiscal mismanagement makes everyone complicit. This is the issue – there’s zero accountability.”

How can you refer to blatant, reckless & criminal fiscal mismanagement as “leakages”? A leakage is a bad roof or an unsealed tap

Racking up more debt than a meth junkie in Vegas isn’t a “leakage” – it’s shameful

I bestow upon you King of EMS Twitter

We’re done here.

— Koshiek Karan (@iamkoshiek) October 28, 2020

(Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele)

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