Reclaiming Fiscal Policy for Social and Economic Justice

The IEJ argues that the current debt-reduction strategy is ineffective and suppresses economic growth. It recommends rejecting regressive taxes, such as VAT increases and the freeze on personal income tax brackets, while proposing progressive alternatives like wealth taxes and reinstating the corporate income tax rate to fund social protection and infrastructure.

• The IEJ contends that the Treasury's debt-reduction strategy is ineffective because it suppresses developmental spending and hinders economic growth, leaving public investment and social protection underfunded, which primarily affects working-class and poor households.
• Proposed revenue measures, including a freeze on personal income tax brackets and increases in the general fuel levy, are viewed as regressive burdens on low-income households. The IEJ suggests alternative revenue sources such as taxing high-net-worth individuals, reinstating the corporate income tax rate, and using the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account.
• Current social spending in healthcare and education remains below pre-Covid levels and fails to meet demand, with women disproportionately affected as they provide unpaid labour to fill these service gaps.

APA

iej_admin (2025). Reclaiming Fiscal Policy for Social and Economic Justice. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/submission/budget-3-0-submission-for-progressive-fiscal-reform/

Chicago

iej_admin. Reclaiming Fiscal Policy for Social and Economic Justice. Institute for Economic Justice, 2025. https://iej.org.za/resource/submission/budget-3-0-submission-for-progressive-fiscal-reform/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=iej_admin |title=Reclaiming Fiscal Policy for Social and Economic Justice |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=26 May 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/submission/budget-3-0-submission-for-progressive-fiscal-reform/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{iejadmin2025reclaiming, author = {iej\_admin}, title = {{Reclaiming Fiscal Policy for Social and Economic Justice}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/submission/budget-3-0-submission-for-progressive-fiscal-reform/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }