Almost 1 million taxpayers carry around 60% of South Africa’s personal income tax. It is a statistic that feels like a plot twist, until you realise it explains so much of the tension around Budget week. The tax base is concentrated, and that concentration creates risk: if growth stalls, if compliance drops, or if skilled earners exit the system, the burden gets heavier on the same group of people.
In this episode, Francis Herd and Aakash Bramdeo break down what the number means, why it keeps narrowing, and why the loudest question heading into the Budget is not just “Will taxes go up?” but “How do we grow the economy and widen the base?” They also tackle the real-life frustration behind the stats: the sense many taxpayers have that they are paying twice, once through tax, and again through private alternatives when public services fail. #eNCA
