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News24 reports that trade union federation Cosatu has rejected the proposed one percentage point hike in Value Added Tax (VAT) that was announced by former finance minister Malusi Gigaba last week.
The federation said following its three-day central executive committee meeting that it rejected the increase, along with hikes in the fuel and road accident fund levies. Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said they wanted the National Assembly to either reject the proposal or to expand the basket of zero-rated goods. Gigaba announced that 19 foods would be listed as zero-rated, including maize meal, brown bread, beans and rice. Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini stated: "There has been no VAT increase (in 25 years) because we fought, they have not been touching this area. We are reminding our government [that] you are playing with fire on this one, we are not going to keep quiet about it." Increasing petrol levies also meant that other goods were affected, including foods that had been declared zero rated, Ntshalintshali pointed out.
- Read this report by Tshidi Madia in full at Fin24
- Read too, Terry Bell’s Inside Labour: VAT a time bomb continuing to tick, at Fin24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page