EFF accuses Treasury of replacing VAT increase with fuel levy hike
The party slammed the decision during a joint meeting of the finance and appropriation committees from the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces on Friday, where parties scrutinised the budget.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. X/@GovernmentZA
CAPE TOWN - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have accused National Treasury of replacing the value-added tax (VAT) increase with the increase in the fuel levy.
The party slammed the decision during a joint meeting of the finance and appropriation committees from the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Friday, where parties scrutinised the budget.
ALSO READ: Budget 3.0: Fuel levy will increase again in June, reveals Godongwana
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana and Treasury returned to Parliament to brief members of Parliament (MPs) for the first time since he tabled the budget, which has been supported by most parties.
Godongwana announced on Wednesday that the general fuel levy would increase for the first time in three years and that the proposed 0.5 percentage point VAT increase had been removed.
He said that the levy would rise by 16 cents per litre for petrol and 15 cents per litre for diesel on Wednesday, 4 June.
During Friday’s analysis of the budget by MPs, the EFF’s Omphile Maotwe said the increase won’t even generate a lot of revenue.
"We reject the fuel levy. When we rejected VAT in March, we never said it must be replaced with the fuel levy. They just went to convert VAT to a fuel levy. What is more painful is that the increase is only going to generate R4 billion - you are saying that yourself."
Treasury said earlier that the fuel levy increase was inflation-linked and not intended to generate additional revenue.