Govt should cut the fat rather than hike VAT - ActionSA

CAPE TOWN - ActionSA said rather than increase value-added tax (VAT), government should cut the fat, starting with costs related to its executive.

The party said on Monday it believed there was enough money in the proposed budget to make up the shortfall that government wants to fund by raising taxes.

Cabinet was due to meet again on Monday to break the impasse over a two percentage point VAT increase proposal that stalled the tabling of the budget in February.

ActionSA said it would soon table a proposed amendment to the Constitution to do away with deputy ministers and to slash the perks of Cabinet.

The size of Cabinet and by extension the number of deputy ministers has grown year-on-year despite a pledge at the start of President Cyril Ramaphosa's presidency in 2018 to trim the executive.

ActionSA said that bloating the executive even further following the formation of the Government of National Unity had cost the fiscus an extra R239 million.

Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said that eradicating deputy ministers could be a starting point for finding the extra money needed to pay for frontline services, including dozens of unemployed doctors.

"We say, cut the fat, don't increase VAT," Trollip said.

The party said it will soon also introduce its Cabinet perks bill, a reworked version of a bill initially introduced by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the previous Parliament, that could save the state millions.

"Parties that vote against it will have to put their hands to their hearts and say we are voting against this because we endorse corruption, or because we think we have a really good Cabinet at the moment."

Trollip said reducing the proposed VAT increase would be an indicator that government was not prepared to change its bad spending habits.