Macro Review

These monthly reports provide in-depth assessments of the trends shaping specific current social, economic, and political risks in South Africa. The Macro Review is supplemented by a monthly lunchtime seminar at the CRA’s headquarters in Johannesburg.

Kicking the can down the road

In this edition of the Macro Review – ‘Kicking the can down the road’ we look at the 2020 Budget delivered by the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni on 26 February 2020.

Key takeaways:

Budgeted revenue for 2020/21 is R1.58 trillion or 29.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), while budgeted expenditure is R1.95 trillion (36% of GDP).
The budget deficit is forecast at an estimate of 6.8% of GDP in 2020/21, 6.2% in 2021/22 and 5.7% in 2022/23.
Economic growth is expected at 0.9% in 2020, forecast to rise to 1.3% in 2021 and 1.6% in 2022.
Gross national debt is estimated to approach R3.56 trillion or 65.6% of GDP in 2020/21.
The Value Added Tax (VAT) remains unchanged and there is a marginal cut in Personal Income Tax (PIT), while ‘sin’ (alcohol, tobacco) and environmental (carbon, plastic) taxes are up.
The annual limit on contributions to tax-free savings accounts is up from R33 000 to R36 000.

2020 2019