South Africa will not increase its VAT

On April 24, 2025, South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced plans to revise the Appropriation Bill (annual bill authorizing the government to spend public funds, distributing financial resources among ministries) and the Division of Revenue Bill (bill stipulating how financial resources collected nationwide are divided among the central government, provinces and municipalities) in the coming weeks, confirming that the country’s standard value-added tax (VAT) rate will remain at 15 percent – for now.
The announcement marks a departure from proposals made in the Minister’s March 12th address to the National Assembly, where he had floated a 2% VAT increase alongside a 6.7% hike in excise duties on alcoholic beverages as part of broader fiscal measures. While VAT increase appears to be off the table, the planned alcohol tax hike remains in place for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.

Source: Reuters
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