Budget 2026: Godongwana faces pressure to provide tax relief for overburdened South Africans

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana must navigate a storm of demands for tax relief and urgent reforms in his upcoming 2026 Budget Speech. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is facing an unprecedented “pincer movement” of demands from across the political and social spectrum as he prepares to deliver the 2026 National Budget Speech this Wednesday. From political parties to powerful trade unions and industry bodies, the message to the National Treasury is blunt: South Africans are “deeply overtaxed,” the energy grid is at a breaking point, and small businesses are suffocating under a mountain of red tape and late payments.

Dr Mark Burke MP, the DA’s spokesperson on Finance, called for an immediate end to “bracket creep”, a phenomenon where inflation pushes taxpayers into higher tax brackets without an increase in actual purchasing power. “South Africans are deeply overtaxed. Budget 2026 must see adjustments in tax brackets and rebates in line with inflation,” Burke said in a statement released Monday.

“We can’t afford another year of stealth taxes, and we definitely can’t afford explicit increases.” The DA said it is expecting no hikes in personal income tax, corporate tax, or VAT. Burke also highlighted a ticking time bomb in the national accounts: debt service costs. “Our country spends 22 cents of every rand on debt service costs that are now crowding out health, education, and police spending,” he warned.

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The IFP said that regressive measures must be revisited in this year’s Budget. egressive measures must be revisited in this year’s Budget. “South Africans cannot withstand policy decisions that increase transport costs, raise food prices, or worsen inequality.

The 2026Budgetmust demonstrate a truly pro-poor orientation, with targeted relief for low-income and working-class households.” “South Africans cannot withstand policy decisions that increase transport costs, raise food prices, or worsen inequality. The 2026 must demonstrate a truly pro-poor orientation, with targeted relief for low-income and working-class households.”

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