Just to clarify:
Property transfer duties and assessment rates are wealth taxes specifically targeting property owners. Capital Gains Tax and Death Duties are broader wealth taxes. All four of these taxes target property owners. This makes property ownership one of the worst investments because of the incredibly heavy tax burden on top of the maintenance costs. All of these taxes damage the ability of households to build up capital to start SMEs. All of these wealth taxes are direct contributory causes of high unemployment in SA because of the tax erosion on capital formation.
Your grandfather paid 10% tax.
Your father paid 30%.
You pay 50%.
Your kids will pay 70%.
This isn't progressive taxation.
It's generational theft on a payment plan.
MILTON FRIEDMAN:
“THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T HAVE ANY MONEY.
ONLY PEOPLE HAVE MONEY.
THE GOVERNMENT ONLY GETS MONEY BY PUTTING ITS HAND IN YOUR POCKET AND TAKING IT OUT.”
South Africans of all races are starting to realise that at least half of their blood, sweat and tears go towards Bentleys and supercars for the president's nephew.
Currently in South Africa, taxpayers who pay PAYE (direct tax) as well as indirect taxes such as VAT, fuel levies, municipal rates, sin tax and vehicle licence fees effectively contribute close to 78 cents of every rand they earn in total taxation.
MUST WATCH:
ROBERT BREEDLOVE EXPLAINS HOW $6 TRILLION OF NEW MONEY CREATED IN 2020 EQUALS 100 MILLION YEARS OF STOLEN LABOR — OR 2 MILLION HUMAN LIFETIMES.
ONE OF THE CLEAREST EXPLANATIONS OF INFLATION YOU’LL EVER HEAR.
The South African Revenue Service is intensifying its crackdown on the country’s illicit economy, now estimated at R1.2trillion a year. SARS said illegal trade in cigarettes, alcohol, and fuel is draining up to R300 billion in tax revenue each year.
https://t.co/ZEpLNe24BO
You work extra hours, save your money, and watch the taxman take his cut through income taxes. Fair enough, you think. But then the government comes back for seconds when you try to grow that already-taxed money through investments.
Capital gains taxes represent the purest form of economic double-dipping. The money you invest comes from income that already ran through the IRS meat grinder. When you buy Apple stock with your after-tax dollars and sell it three years later for a profit, the government treats that gain like fresh income ripe for taxation. Your profit exists only because you delayed consumption and took on risk with money already taxed once.
Think about what actually happens when you invest. You take money that could buy groceries or vacations today and loan it to productive enterprises. Those companies use your capital to build factories, hire workers, and create value. The "gain" you earn reflects the real economic growth your patience and risk-taking helped generate. Taxing that gain punishes the very behavior that drives prosperity: saving and investment over immediate consumption.
The absurdity becomes crystal clear when you consider inflation. Say you buy $10,000 worth of stock in 2020 and sell it for $12,000 in 2024. After 20% inflation, your "gain" barely maintains purchasing power. Yet your revenue service will cheerfully tax you on that phantom $2,000 profit. You actually lost money in real terms, but you still owe capital gains tax.
Capital gains taxes are legalized theft that destroys the incentive structure capitalism depends on. Every dollar extracted through capital gains taxes represents resources diverted from productive investment into government consumption. The economy grows when people save and invest; it stagnates when politicians punish thrift and reward spending.
Not to mention that if they want to share in the spoils when you invest successfully, they should also absorb their share of the risk when you lose money.
Media Release: SARS Refutes False Claims of a Data Breach
SARS is aware of social media posts and online reports claiming that its systems have been breached. SARS continuously monitors its systems for any suspicious activity and has conducted a thorough investigation in response to these reports. These claims are false and unsubstantiated...https://t.co/ktn2tluyNv
🇿🇦 South Africa's Finance Minister moved his crypto seizure deadline 3 times.
His own government posted 2 different deadlines on 2 official websites.
2 different email addresses. Same regulation.
Here's what that chaos actually reveals. 🧵