VAT Increase Threatens Household Food Affordability

Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD) has reacted to the proposed VAT increase of 17%, calling it “a very risky proposition”. The organisation which has just released its February 2025 key data for VAT and zero-rated items, tracked in the Household Affordability Index, says increasing the VAT-rate by 2% (from 15% to 17%) “is likely to have severe affordability consequences, particularly for low-income families and small businesses, and likely to deepen poverty, inequality and injustice, with a potential for increased social fall out and even slower economic growth.”