Special Report Transcript Episode 74, Section 3, Time 33:07

Internationally wealth taxes are very complex; people avoid them, because capital becomes mobile especially if you relax exchange control and all kinds of other things. Second thing is that it is administrative … it is an administrative burden for an administration that has difficulty to collect the main taxes that we have in South Africa, being the consumption tax and the income tax. And thirdly, it is a further burden on savings, it’s a disincentive for people to save rather than consume. And we as a country, we have a lack of savings, so there are many arguments. I think the main thing is it is too complex, it is going to send the wrong type of signal and we already have a tax. If you say once in a lifetime I take 25 percent or I take half percent a year or whatever it’s just slicing it in a different way, but it’s the same tax base that you’re really going for.

Notes: Theo van Wyk (AHI)

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