REEP's letter to the Finance Standing Committee: September 2023

18 Sep 2023
No smoking signs
18 Sep 2023

On 18 September 2023, Prof. Corné Van Walbeek and Nicole Vellios submitted a 10-page letter to the Finance Standing Committee. This is in response to the committee calling for public comment on the 2023 Draft Revenue Bills, Rates Bill & Tax Bills. In the submission, they present recent research on (1) cigarette taxation, (2) e-cigarette taxation, and (3) alcohol taxation. In the letter they make the following recommendations:

  1. National Treasury should substantially increase the excise tax on tobacco products in the 2024/2025 budget cycle;
  2. National Treasury should introduce a multi-year taxation approach, where taxes on tobacco products, e-cigarettes and alcohol increase annually by a pre-announced amount (or percentage) above the inflation rate;
  3. The South African government should ratify the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and implement its provisions;
  4. National Treasury should introduce a minimum excise tax amount on e-liquid;
  5. The taxation on wine should be reviewed, such that the benchmarks between the three categories (wine, beer, and spirits) is narrowed. 

Read the letter in full here.