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Date Added to
Site: 24th March 2003 |
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Short Summary
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| Title |
Women and Tax in South Africa |
| Author |
Smith, T. |
| Publication
Date |
June 2000 |
| Publisher |
Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) and
Idasa |
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Short Summary |
What is the tax toll on women? Can taxation policy
reduce income and wealth inequalities between women and men in South
Africa? This paper, one of a collection of four papers from the fifth
year of the South African Women's Budget Initiative, argues that the
way in which the tax burden is distributed affects the welfare of
individuals and households. It influences disposable (available) income,
people's spending, savings, and investment choices, private sector
activity, and job creation. Since 1994 changes have been made to South
Africa's taxation policy which had traditionally discriminated against
women both through its formal discrimination on gender and marital
status, and over reliance on indirect taxes which disproportionately
impact on the poor. Yet significant discrimination against women remains
in certain types of indirect taxation and in the structuring of tax
deductions and allowances. If taxation policy is to be an effective
tool for redressing gender inequalities, the government revenue services
must make gender central to their policy-making and revenue reviews.
The collection of gender-disaggregated information to gain a clearer
understanding of the differential impact of taxation on women and
men is a priority. Specific recommendations include restructuring
the personal income tax system to make it more progressive (i.e. more
favourable to those with less income), moving from separate taxation
of spouses to joint taxation, extending the zero-rating to more basic
goods and services, and educating the public on their rights as taxpayers.
From: Parliamentary Committee on the Quality of Life and Status of
Women, CASE and Idasa, 2000, 'Women's Budget Series: 2000 issue',
Cape Town |
| Complete Document |
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PostScript Document (pdf) |
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