Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) submitted a critique of South Africa's 2026 Budget, arguing that the National Treasury continues a decade of austerity that undermines economic growth and public service delivery. The IEJ contends that the budget prioritizes debt stabilization and tax relief for high-income earners over critical investments in infrastructure, education, and social protection, thereby failing to address chronic food insecurity and unemployment.

• The 2026 Budget continues a trend of austerity by reducing non-interest spending by R5.2 billion in 2026/27 and by R14.2 billion in 2027/28 compared to the 2025 Budget, which the IEJ argues starves the country of resources for development.
• South Africa's investment rate is currently under 14%, far below the National Development Plan (NDP) target of 30%. The IEJ asserts that the R1.07 trillion medium-term infrastructure allocation is insufficient, as achieving NDP targets by 2030 would require R1.8 trillion per annum.
• Public spending on essential services is declining in real terms: education spending per learner is projected to decline by an average of 0.33% over the medium term, and healthcare spending per public service user in 2026/27 is R4,028, down from R4,108 in 2019/20.
• Social protection is contracting by 0.33% over three years due to the lack of funding for the Covid-19 SRD grant in outer years and planned reductions in beneficiaries. The IEJ notes that the SRD grant remains at R370 per month, significantly below the estimated R923 cost of a basic nutritious food basket.
• The IEJ criticizes the government's reliance on increasing the savings rate via tax-deductible allowances for high-income earners, arguing that this increases inequality and that high long-term real interest rates, rather than a lack of savings, are the primary constraint on investment.
• The 2026 Budget's revenue proposals fail to raise additional revenue over the medium term, as the R20 billion tax increase from the 2025 Budget was withdrawn and tax brackets were adjusted for inflation, which the IEJ views as a sacrifice of resources for the well-off.
• The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to peak at 78.9%, higher than the 77.9% anticipated in the 2025 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, because nominal GDP grew slower than expected.
• The second Gender Budget Statement (GBS) is described as ineffective and peripheral, as it was confined to an annexure and replaced the specific 'Women’s Economic Empowerment' framework with the broader term 'economic empowerment'.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2026). Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IEJ-_-Fiscal-Framework-and-Revenue-Proposals-Submission-_-2026-BUDGET.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals. 2026. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IEJ-_-Fiscal-Framework-and-Revenue-Proposals-Submission-_-2026-BUDGET.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals |date=9 March 2026 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IEJ-_-Fiscal-Framework-and-Revenue-Proposals-Submission-_-2026-BUDGET.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2026fiscal, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IEJ-_-Fiscal-Framework-and-Revenue-Proposals-Submission-_-2026-BUDGET.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }