Wealth tax may help to tackle inequality — but not much else, says Judge Davis
A wealth tax may help to tackle inequality but would not yield much revenue, according to Judge Dennis Davis. Davis said at the Wits Business School on Monday night that the Davis Tax Committee had received more than 300 submissions about the proposed wealth tax. "International evidence suggests that if you get 1% or 2% of your tax take as a wealth tax, that’s not going to solve the problem. That might help with the deficit but not more than that," said Davis. The committee is set to meet EFF and trade union representatives on Tuesday. Davis said wealth tax revenue would not come close to corporate or value added taxes, but would address issues of inequality. His comments follow reports suggesting the South African Revenue Service (SARS) faces a revenue shortfall of as much as R50bn. Something had to be done to address inequality in SA, said Imraan Valodia, dean of the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management, speaking on the same panel. "A tax system should be one of the avenues we u...
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