DURBAN – For the first time since the global financial crisis of 2008, South Africa’s 2017/2018-tax growth did not exceed its GDP growth, the national treasury and SARS said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The information was published in the 2018 edition of the annual Tax Statistics report, which provides an overview of tax revenue collections and tax return information for the 2014 to 2017 tax years, as well as the 2013/14 to 2017/18 fiscal years.
According to SARS, key points in the Tax Statistics 2018 edition are that tax revenue collected amounted to R1.2 trillion, growing year-on-year by R72.4 billion (6.3%) mainly supported by personal income tax, which grew by R37 billion (8.7%).
Despite tough economic conditions in which real and nominal GDP increased by a modest 1.3% and 7.0% respectively, the tax-to-GDP ratio decreased marginally from 25.9% in 2016/2017 to 25.8% in 2017/2018.
Assessment of taxpayers at the end of June 2018 showed that 2 678 743 (54.7%) of assessed taxpayers were male, while 2 219 822 (45.3%) were female, said the statement.
Additionally, 1 331 419 (27.2%) of assessed taxpayers were aged 35 to 44 years and 1 966 744 (40.1%) were registered in Gauteng, of which 629 113 lived in the Johannesburg Metro and were taxed on an average taxable income of R446 838.
The Tax Statistics documents are available on the national treasury and SARS websites.