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Affect of 2016 budget on carbon tax implementation

Mansoor Parker 02 Mar 2016

Taxand South Africa discusses the affect of the 2016 Budget on carbon tax implementation.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan did not mention the proposed carbon tax (the tax) in his Budget Speech delivered on 24 February 2016.

Curiously, given the emotion that has surrounded the idea of the tax since 2010, when it was first formalised in a Treasury discussion paper, commentary on the implications of the Minister’s apparent omission has been muted or non-existent.

This article seeks to remedy the silence and argue that:

• Far from being an indication that the carbon tax is off the table, the Minister’s failure to mention the tax in the 2016 Budget Speech is reflective of the fact that the tax has now moved into the mainstream of Treasury’s legislative work agenda
• There are very compelling reasons why the carbon tax will be introduced on schedule, in January 2017, while acknowledging that a lot of legwork still needs to be done if this timing is to be achieved

Discover more: Affect of 2016 budget on carbon tax implementation

Taxand's Take

The idea that the carbon tax should be delayed because it is imperfectly formed is less powerful than the combined strength of the various drivers towards implementation that are considered in this article.

Article tags

Energy Tax | South Africa