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Why should we pay tax‚ AfriForum asks

AfriForum is asking why citizens should pay taxes if government fails to use the money to fulfil its primary responsibilities.

The pressure group issued a statement on Tuesday saying government was abusing taxpayers by not using the money effectively.

AfriForum launched a campaign on income tax recently‚ “after shocking statistics for 2015 indicate that Government once again failed in fulfilling its responsibilities during the 2015/2016 fiscal year”.

“Income tax amounted to 36‚45% of the total budget for the 2015/2016 fiscal year. AfriForum revisited what government had promised during the 2015 budget speech to see if taxpayers indeed get what they pay for. The answers are shocking‚” said Monique Taute‚ the national campaign coordinator for AfriForum.

 The group pointed to the fall in the national matric pass rate in 2015 despite the fact that R203-billion had been budgeted for basic education‚ saying “the country spends more on education than many other countries do”.

It also said government had failed “in its primary responsibility to protect its citizens and ensure their safety. Crime rose by 0‚09% in 2015‚ with more than 2‚2 million crimes committed in South Africa. This creates concern about the R171-billion which was to be spent on security‚ public order and safety – on what was this then spent? ”

Taute said that unemployment in the third quarter of 2015 would not have increased by 1‚2% to reach 25‚5% if government had used taxpayers’ money effectively to combat unemployment.

“AfriForum plans on writing a letter to Mr Pravin Gordhan‚ Minister of Finance‚ before the 2016/2017 budget speech to request him to provide answers to government’s empty promises for 2015‚” said Taute.

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