One of President Ramaphosa's proposals to offer poor South Africans relief from the high cost of living is to exempt more products from VAT. Economists quickly said that more zero rates are not a good idea, because they distort relative prices, and the Treasury has said they cannot afford the foregone tax revenue. I went to look at the report that a panel of experts prepared for the Minister of Finance in 2018 and there is much more to discuss.
This episode is supported by the NWU Business School.
