The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) opposes any form of tax increase and welcomes the decision to scrap the proposed VAT increase. This decision was made due to pressure from various quarters, including the Freedom Front Plus.
Over the past few months, the Freedom Front Plus has proposed alternatives during numerous bilateral discussions with the ANC and in other relevant forums to address the fiscal crisis without increasing VAT.
The party has consistently contributed to the search for constructive solutions that can stimulate economic growth and ensure cost-effective government spending.
An adjusted budget will now be tabled. This new budget must not replace the VAT increase with another form of tax increase or levy.
The Freedom Front Plus will participate in the processes that follow to ensure the alternative budget benefits ordinary South Africans who are already overburdened.
A VAT increase of just one percentage point over two years would have been a severe blow in the current economic climate with high levels of unemployment to millions of people struggling to put food on the table.
The budget or fiscal framework should instead aim to create a favourable environment to stimulate economic growth.
The Freedom Front Plus’s stance has consistently been that long-term solutions should be sought, such as curbing government spending and implementing policy changes to stimulate growth, rather than placing an additional burden on the taxpayer.
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