Medium Term Budget Policy Statement
The medium term budget plan presented by Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan, on the 5th of October has received praise from most areas. Minister Gordhan and the government were congratulated for a ‘progressive and inclusive budget statement’ in which Gordhan advised the country must cut down on extravagant and wasteful expenditure, and indicated that he will task the Auditor general to focus on the reporting of savings by the various governmental departments.
This will enable government to borrow more and invest in infrastructure, industry and to boost local firms. It was said the country must learn to do more with less in the face of sluggish global growth, whilst outlining a plan to support the country’s economic recovery. The inability of the local economy to recover as expected could trigger a combination of slower spending coupled with higher taxes, whilst Government is said to have projected revenue collections to recover in 2014. The proposed increase in government debt was noted as going from 23 per cent of GDP to 40 per cent in 2015.
Why is this important to follow?
So that each one of us can plan ahead and realise the highlights and implications this will have on our businesses, our spending, our taxes and our future planning.
We look forward to the 2012 Budget Speech and what highlights and implications this will have in the coming year.
