Praise all round for Gordhan
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan had walked a difficult road but has produced the best Budget possible, said opposition parties and analysts yesterday.
DA spokesman on finance David Maynier praised the way in which Gordhan went about raising R28-billion in taxes and his attempts to balance the Budget in difficult fiscal circumstances.
EFF leader Julius Malema said: "I think it was a well-balanced Budget, well thought out and within the constraints that he finds himself in with low growth and the fact that we are in a very difficult period. We have seen Pravin crying to give the poor more, even with limited resources."
Budget 2017 commentary: 'Gordhan should be praised' Dr Kenneth Creamer‚ Economist at Wits University on the 2017 Budget Speech delivered by the Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan today.
The IFP's Mkhuleko Hlengwa congratulated Gordhan "on keeping his head above water under very difficult personal-political circumstances and for him to keep a very keen focus on the national interest and get the work done".
"He had to raise taxes - we already owe R2.2-trillion, we have to service that debt and even now we have to borrow R149-billion, so we are in dire economic straits."
Cosatu said that, although it appreciated parts of the Budget it was worried that the government's "austerity approach" was hurting critical public service delivery.
Kenneth Creamer, an economist at Wits University, said it was preferable that Gordhan raise taxes than increase borrowing.
Budget 2017: 'Harsh times ahead'‚ says Geffen Lew Geffen‚ chairman of property firm Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty‚ says anyone still viewing the country’s medium term economic outlook through rose-tinted spectacles had them rudely ripped off by the Finance Minister on Wednesday.
"Gordhan's fiscal rectitude will enable South Africa to retain a degree of policy sovereignty. He knows that if South Africa falls more deeply into debt its ability to determine its own policy direction will be compromised. Such a loss of policy sovereignty would limit the scope for interventions for improving the structure of the economy.
"Gordhan's budget is a good one. It strikes the right balance - asking the rich to contribute a little more, while promising that the government will redouble its commitment to using public resources more effectively to improve the lives of the poor and to transform South Africa into a more equitable society."
The SA Sugar Association said it was pleased that the "sugar tax" would not be implemented in April, as had been expected, and was likely to be subjected to further public comment.
Budget 2017: Overburdening wealthy South Africans could hurt economy - Seeff The growing tax burden for the wealthy is a concern‚ says businessman Samuel Seeff.
North West University economics and business professor Raymond Parsons said the Budget was realistic but predictable.
"Even if the optimistic growth forecasts in the Budget are accepted, it is clear that the current weak rate of growth strains everything, including 'radical economic transformation'."
Parsons said it was important that South Africa did not enter a "negative tax-and-spend cycle, which would weaken economic performance".
"The danger exists that aggressive taxation will diminish the income to be taxed . South Africa probably needs at least a 2%-to-3% growth rate to limit the future tax burden."