In the last few years, South Africa’s economy has been underperforming, economic growth has lagged behind global and emerging markets, and the GDP is growing slower than the population.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that this is a pretty resilient country. We’re good at soldiering through the bad times and coming out on top, against all odds.

The best defence is a good offence and the key to a good offence is knowing the facts and taking strategic action.

The first thing that you need to know is that, according to economist Dawie Roodt, further tax increases can be expected in 2020.

Over to BusinessTech:

“The question is which one of the taxes will be increased? I am pretty sure that things like the fuel levy will be increased, and sin taxes.”

The economist said that the two taxes that can make a difference to the country’s finances are personal income tax, and value-added tax (VAT) and that February’s Budget will reveal all.

While we wait for the budget speech to get the facts, here’s what could affect tax hikes in 2020, per Moneyweb:

One of the first paragraphs in the annual tax report published by National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) gives one of the main reasons why public infrastructure is deteriorating and living standards for a large section of the population are falling.

This became clear during the last tax year, when low economic growth reduced tax revenues while government spending continued to increase. The report states that “whilst revenues generated from the tax system move in tandem with the economy, on average, the growth in tax revenues has (usually) been higher than economic growth”…

The overall impression of the 271-page tax statistics report is that government is facing a huge revenue and funding problem in the coming year.

Sadly, we all know what that means.

How you handle your taxes in 2020 could make all the difference to how you end the year financially. Tax season will start in the next couple of months and you’re going to want to make sure that you are compliant and that everything is in order.

With the above info in mind, SARS will most likely hit out hard at anyone who isn’t toeing the line.

Short of a degree in Business Science or Tax Law, most of us aren’t equipped to handle our own taxes, let alone that of a business. If you’re smart, you’ll hand things over to an expert.

Galbraith | Rushby offers professional tax compliance and advisory services to individuals and businesses. Seth’s been letting them run the numbers for years now, and it’s one less thing to worry about whilst living the holiday.

While we can’t control the economy, good or bad, we can control how we navigate it.

[source:businesstech&moneyweb]