{"id":96210,"date":"2026-02-22T10:30:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft"},"modified":"2026-02-22T10:35:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:35:47","slug":"secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft","title":{"rendered":"Secret Method of South African Government Taxpayer Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Allan Gray\u2019s head of tax, Carla Rossouw, explained that bracket creep is a measure for the National Treasury to collect more tax without people noticing.<\/p>\n<p>Bracket creep is where inflation pushes taxpayers into higher income tax brackets, effectively resulting in a tax increase without any change in tax laws.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a silent way for governments to increase tax revenue, as nominal wages grow to keep up with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n<p>However, it goes beyond just paying higher taxes. After paying more tax, they may actually have less purchasing power than they did before the raise.<\/p>\n<p>The government likes bracket creep because it collects more tax revenue in real terms without having to vote on a politically unpopular tax hike.<\/p>\n<p>Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is scheduled to deliver the 2026 Budget Speech on Wednesday, 25 February 2026.<\/p>\n<p>South African taxpayers and businesses will follow his speech carefully to see whether there will be tax increases.<\/p>\n<p>Rossouw explained that, over the last few years, low economic growth has made spending cuts and legislated tax increases unfeasible.<\/p>\n<p>To compensate for this, the Finance Minister has opted to raise additional revenue by making little to no adjustments to the personal income tax brackets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBracket creep is a deliberate yet simple measure for the National Treasury to collect more revenue in a way that is uncontested and largely unnoticed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStagnant tax tables may appear to be a reason to celebrate, but in fact have an impact on the average South African taxpayer\u2019s take-home pay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added that while bracket creep is not new, the compounding effect over several years is significant.<\/p>\n<p><b>Understanding bracket creep<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Allan Gray\u2019s head of tax, Carla Rossouw<\/p>\n<p>Rossouw explained that inflation-related salary increases are typically intended to preserve purchasing power.<\/p>\n<p>However, in a year of unchanged tax brackets, even a modest adjustment can push earners into a higher bracket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis means a disproportionate share of their increase is taxed away,\u201d Rossouw explained in a press statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany taxpayers are shifted upward simply due to inflation-linked increases. Without relief in the tax tables, an inflation adjustment can leave you poorer in real terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rossouw said South Africa has a progressive tax system where those with greater resources contribute more to public services and infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>However, with bracket creep, it has the opposite effect where low- to middle-income earners are hit the hardest.<\/p>\n<p>This is because they are pushed into higher brackets. In addition, many taxpayers who previously fell just below the tax threshold now have to pay Pay As You Earn (PAYE).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBracket creep widens the tax net, with more people shifted over the monetary threshold when PAYE becomes due and payable,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p>She said there are practical steps to lessen the impact of bracket creep and ensure people do not pay too much tax.<\/p>\n<p>One way is to reduce their taxable income by maximising contributions to tax-efficient investment vehicles, such as retirement funds.<\/p>\n<p>Contributions to tax-free investment accounts, made with after-tax income, allow people to benefit from tax savings on their investment returns.<\/p>\n<p>She also advised people to keep bracket creep in mind when negotiating annual salary increases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnnual adjustments that beat both inflation and the effects of bracket creep assist in retaining real purchasing power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><b>Monthly reduction in purchasing power<\/b><br \/>\n<b>Mr X\u2019s income and tax for the 2024\/2025 tax year<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">South-Africa<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; South-Africa. Allan Gray\u2019s head of tax, Carla Rossouw, explained that bracket creep is a measure for the National Treasury to collect more tax without people noticing. Bracket creep is where inflation pushes taxpayers into higher income tax brackets, effectively resulting in a tax increase without any change in tax laws. It\u2019s a silent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":96209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-96210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Secret Method of South African Government Taxpayer Theft - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Allan Gray\u2019s head of tax, Carla Rossouw, explained that bracket creep is a measure for the National Treasury to collect ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secret Method of South African Government Taxpayer Theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Allan Gray\u2019s head of tax, Carla Rossouw, explained that bracket creep is a measure for the National Treasury to collect ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-22T10:30:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-22T10:35:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1771743881.257191.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Secret Method of South African Government Taxpayer Theft\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-22T10:30:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-22T10:35:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft\"},\"wordCount\":578,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/02\/sm_1771743881.257191.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/secret-method-of-south-african-government-taxpayer-theft\",\"name\":\"Secret Method of South African Government Taxpayer Theft - 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