Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals

The IEJ criticizes the 2024 Budget for prioritizing debt stabilization over public services and economic growth. It highlights significant real-term cuts in non-interest expenditure, the erosion of social grant values, and underfunding of public employment and healthcare. The report proposes increasing taxes on high-income earners and corporations, expanding social grants to the food poverty line, and increasing public investment to 25% to drive infrastructure and job creation.

• National Treasury is implementing significant real-term spending cuts; between 2019/20 and 2026/27, adjusted for inflation, the government will have cut R270 billion in main budget non-interest expenditure, resulting in a 23% decrease in spending per person over eight years.
• Social grants have failed to keep pace with inflation, leaving the Child Support Grant and the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant below the food poverty line. The IEJ recommends increasing the SRD and Child Support Grant to the food poverty line (FPL).
• Spending on critical social services is declining per user; public healthcare spending is projected to fall from R5,381 per user in 2023/24 to R4,864 by 2026/27, and basic education spending will decrease from R25,130 to R24,493 per learner over the same period.
• The budget undermines economic development and job creation through real spending declines in agriculture and rural development (-2.9%), industrialisation and exports (-1.8%), and innovation, science and technology (-5.09%).
• The IEJ identifies substantial untapped revenue sources to replace austerity, including a potential wealth tax (R70-R160 billion), taxing financial transactions (over R40 billion), and reducing retirement fund benefits for those earning above R750,000 (R65 billion).
• The current fiscal strategy focuses on debt stabilization, aiming for a debt-to-GDP ratio of 75.3% by 2025/26, which the IEJ argues is unnecessary as South African debt levels are comparable to peer emerging and middle-income countries (averaging 69% in 2023).
• The government's reliance on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for electricity and infrastructure is criticized for shifting disproportionate risk to the state and potentially increasing tariffs for consumers and businesses.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2024). Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IEJ-Budget-2024-Parliamentary-Submission.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals. 2024. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IEJ-Budget-2024-Parliamentary-Submission.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals |date=26 February 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IEJ-Budget-2024-Parliamentary-Submission.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2024fiscal, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IEJ-Budget-2024-Parliamentary-Submission.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }