Personal income tax accounts for 38.1 percent of total tax revenue according to the 2018 Tax Statistics, up from 37 percent in the previous year - of which 40 percent of taxpayers came from Gauteng.
Personal income tax rates in South Africa are already high by international standards at the current 45 percent maximum marginal income tax rate for taxable income above R1.5 million.
How much room does the government have, to further increase personal income tax rates? Findings from the 2018 PricewaterhouseCoopers Executive Directors: Practices and Remuneration Trends, 10th edition, found that the average total guaranteed package for chief executive in the top 10 listed JSE firms was an average of R24.9m, R15m for chief financial officers and R8.7m for executive directors.
The top executives had seen an 11 percent increase in average salaries - far outpacing the 6 percent inflation tracking increase for ordinary workers. These findings may potentially support calls for higher taxation on the top earners.