Pretoria - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Tuesday tabled the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill 2013.
The bill tabled in Parliament provides tax relief for individual income taxpayers by adjustments to the personal income tax brackets -- partially accommodating for fiscal drag (individuals moving into higher income tax brackets due to inflationary adjustment to wages and salaries).
The total relief provided amounts to R7 billion.
“As practice and in order to give legislative effect to some of the more pressing tax changes announced in the 2013 annual tax legislative amendments will be done in phases. This year there will be three pieces of legislation to provide for the tax changes announced in the 2013 budget speech,” said Gordhan.
The first piece of legislation tabled deals with most of the changes in tax rates and monetary amounts -- most of them already being implemented but requiring legislative approval, said the minister.
The monetary amounts of the monthly medical tax credits are increased in line with inflation. Monthly tax credits will be increased from R230 to R242 for each of the first two beneficiaries and from R154 to R162 for each additional beneficiary with effect from 1 March 2013.
The bill provides income tax relief for small businesses. “The monetary brackets of the graduated income tax table for small business corporation were increased and additional lower 21% income tax bracket is introduced. In addition the monetary annual turnover (sales) amount for a qualifying small business corporation is increased for R14 million to R20 million per annum.”
The bill also provides for increases in the monetary amounts of various specific indirect taxes. Tobacco excise duties are increased between 5.8 and 10% and excise duties on alcoholic beverages are increased between 5.7 and 10%.
Gordhan said that though the South African economy has continued to grow since the 2009 recession, the moderate pace of economic growth has adversely affected revenue performance in 2012/13.
“Tax revenues are expected to improve over the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) period in line with expectations of improved economic growth and marginally higher levels of commodity prices,” added Gordhan. - SAnews.gov.za
