50 companies pay one-quarter of government tax

Companies were subject to 22 business-related taxes, compared to 20 in the previous year

Fifty of SA’s large companies contributed almost a quarter of total government tax collections in the 2010 financial year, according to the PwC fourth annual Total Tax Contribution survey released on Wednesday.

“This total tax contribution amounts to 23.51% of total government tax receipts for that year,” the company’s tax partner, Charles de Wet, said in a statement.

Their contribution totalled R140.76 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010.

The average total tax rate for respondents was 33.24%, up  from 2009 when it was 32.53%. This is a measure of all business taxes against profit before all such taxes.

This meant Tax Freedom Day — the day of the year on which respondents had earned enough profit to pay all their taxes — was celebrated on April 30. The year before it was May 2.

Companies were subject to 22 business-related taxes for the 2010 financial year, compared to 20 in the previous year.

The survey found the mining industry had the heaviest tax burden in 2010, with a total tax rate of 38.26%.

The manufacturing industry — including oil and gas — was the largest tax contributor, paying R63.07 billion. This was 45% of the total R140.76 billion of all survey respondents.