It has become a global phenomenon measuring Tax Freedom Day, the day up to which you work to pay your taxes – only after Tax Freedom Day do you start working for yourself. In 2018 it takes us South Africans 133 days or 39% of our working time to pay our taxes.
Generally, the trend has been rising – when the measurement began in 1994, it took 101 days to pay our tax. We have gone up by more than one month since then, which is quite a disturbing trend. This is set to continue as Government will take a few years to get its fiscal house in order.
However, when we benchmark South Africa against other countries, we are not doing too badly. As reflected in the table below, we are placed 11th out of 29 countries.
Source: the above table is adapted from Wikipedia.
By the time you read this article, you will have paid your tax and for the rest of the year the money you earn is all yours!
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