Alternatives to Austerity: Revenue options to raise the maximum available resources

This policy brief by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that the South African government has failed to mobilise the maximum available resources (MAR), leading to unnecessary budget cuts in social services. It proposes a shift toward proactive resource mobilisation through tax reforms, debt renegotiation, and the use of reserves to ensure socioeconomic obligations are met.

• The South African government has failed to mobilise the maximum available resources, resulting in the National Treasury cutting spending on essential social services over the last ten years due to cited fiscal constraints.
• The IEJ identifies several untapped revenue streams and fiscal reforms to increase available resources, including the restoration of Corporate Income Tax rates, the reduction of tax breaks and exemptions for wealthy individuals, the removal of ineffective incentives, and the taxation of wealth and financial transactions.
• Beyond taxation, the brief recommends that the government leverage existing reserves, renegotiate the terms of its debt, and investigate innovative financing mechanisms to meet its legal and constitutional socioeconomic obligations.

APA

iej_admin (2024). Alternatives to Austerity: Revenue options to raise the maximum available resources. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/policy-brief/policy-brief-revenue-options-to-raise-the-maximum-available-resources/

Chicago

iej_admin. Alternatives to Austerity: Revenue options to raise the maximum available resources. Institute for Economic Justice, 2024. https://iej.org.za/resource/policy-brief/policy-brief-revenue-options-to-raise-the-maximum-available-resources/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=iej_admin |title=Alternatives to Austerity: Revenue options to raise the maximum available resources |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=22 February 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/policy-brief/policy-brief-revenue-options-to-raise-the-maximum-available-resources/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{iejadmin2024alternatives, author = {iej\_admin}, title = {{Alternatives to Austerity: Revenue options to raise the maximum available resources}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/policy-brief/policy-brief-revenue-options-to-raise-the-maximum-available-resources/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }