Pretoria - Cabinet has congratulated Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and National Treasury for delivering a balanced and well thought out Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
“The MTBPS provides an opportunity for civil society, labour and business to work together with government to achieve the economic objectives of our country,” said Cabinet on Thursday.
Minister Gordhan tabled the MTBPS, which is also known as the mini-budget, on Wednesday, 26 October, in Parliament.
Among the announcements of the MTBPS was that Treasury has revised the country’s growth down from the 0.9% projected in the February national Budget to 0.5% in 2016.
Minister Gordhan announced that universities and students will receive an additional R17 billion over the term, with R9 billion going to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme over the period ahead. Over R8 billion will meet the costs of fee increases for students from households with incomes of up to R600 000 per annum.
“Cabinet supports the initiatives announced in the MTBPS to guide the economy through these difficult economic times, achieve inclusive economic growth and efficiently use State resources,” said Cabinet following its two-day meeting.
2016 Tax Season
Cabinet also thanked the taxpayers who submitted their tax returns this tax season, while also reminding all non-provisional taxpayers, who still have to submit their tax returns, to do so. The deadline for submissions is 25 November 2016.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has stated that more than 4.5 million taxpayers have submitted their returns.
“Patriotic taxpayers are helping to improve the lives of millions of South Africans by partnering with government as it rolls out much needed services and social support across communities.
“Cabinet calls on South Africans to join our efforts in growing the economy by creating new jobs, and adopting a culture of saving. Working together, we can ensure that we boost economic growth,” SARS said.
Tax season 2016 began on 1 July.
SARS hostage situation
Cabinet said it supports calls for a quick and effective investigation into the alleged hostage situation at the offices of the revenue service.
“Incidents such as these have a negative impact on public confidence in our law enforcement authorities and need to be quickly addressed.”
Last week, media reported the alleged kidnapping of an employee of SARS, which was recorded on video. – SAnews.gov.za
