Reclaiming Fiscal Policy for Social and Economic Justice

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) submitted a response to the 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals, urging the South African Parliament to reject austerity and adopt progressive fiscal reform to prioritize economic inclusion and constitutional obligations.

• The IEJ argues that the National Treasury's current debt-reduction and fiscal consolidation strategies are ineffective, as they suppress developmental spending and hinder economic growth, leaving public investment and social protection underfunded for poor and working-class households.
• The IEJ identifies several regressive revenue proposals in the 2025 budget, including a proposed VAT increase, a freeze on personal income tax brackets, and increases in the general fuel levy, which they claim disproportionately burden low-income households.
• To achieve progressive revenue mobilisation, the IEJ recommends reinstating the corporate income tax rate, taxing high-net-worth individuals, leveraging the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account, and implementing wealth taxes.
• The document states that current spending on healthcare and education remains below pre-Covid levels, failing to meet public service demand and forcing women to fill these gaps through unpaid labour.

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} }