Petition to SA ministers of finance and health — don’t hike VAT, raise tax on harmful products

Now is the time to strengthen taxes on products harmful to health! 

South Africa is reeling from the cuts in USAID funding – with thousands of health worker and  researcher posts lost and terminated as of 27th February 2025. The estimated cost in lives is around 50,000 deaths over the next 10 years! Vital work in a country with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world has been severely compromised.  

We are also in the midst of an obesity and noncommunicable disease epidemic. In 2016, 31% of  adult males, 67% of adult females and 13% of children under five years old were either overweight or obese. In the absence of any intervention, it is estimated that 50% of South Africans will be obese by 2030.  

In addition, the country is facing a financial crisis – desperate to raise funds, Treasury mooted raising VAT by 2%, a regressive tax that will hurt poorer people the most. 

By using the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), introduced in 2018 to promote health, to its optimum level and expanding the HPL to fruit juices, the government would not only decrease obesity but also bring in at least R8.6-billion in tax revenues per annum, while saving lives and averting 156,640 incident cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus over 20 years. In addition raising the HPL to the 20% effective tax rate threshold (as recommended by the WHO) would reduce incident cases of obesity by more than 1.4 million while reducing obesity-related health costs by more than R20-billion over 20 years. 

Additionally, unlike the proposed VAT increase, an HPL increase would benefit the poorest the  most. 

• We as health workers are concerned that the health of our communities is not being considered in the current Budget and suggest that there is a win-win in increasing the HPL. Contrary to the industry claims, empirical evidence has shown no association between the HPL and employment;


• We hereby call on the government to not bow to industry pressure but to support the health of the population by increasing the HPL to 20%, and including fruit juices as promised.

Signed by:  

Organisations: 

1. SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science PRICELESS SA;


2. Rural Health Advocacy Project;


3. TB Accountability Consortium;


4. Health Taxes Alliance;


5. Working for an Alcohol Safer South Africa (Wassa);


6. The Cancer Alliance;


7. SACC;


8. TB Proof;


9. The Progressive Health Forum;


10. SAAPA South Africa;


11. The Desmond Tutu Health Foundation; and


12. SECTION27.

 Individual health workers: 

1. Mark Heywood;


2. Dr Thami Mnsoma;


3. Dr Tim Wilson;


4. Professor Helen Schneider;


5. Dr Atiya Mosam;


6. Dr Krishna Vallabhjee;


7. Professor Ashraf Coovadia;


8. Dr Tracey Naledi;


9. Professor Max Price;


10. Ameena Goga;


11. Charlyn Goliath;


12. Professor David Rees;


13. Associate Professor Zenda Woodman;


14. Dr Peter Barron;


15. Hassan Mahomed;


16. Professor Karen Hofman;


17. Professor Uta Lehmann;


18. Professor Lucy Gilson;


19. Professor Susan Cleary;


20. Professor Sharon Fonn;


21. Dr Reno Morar;


22. Emeritus Professor Diane Cooper;


23. Dr Sagie Pillay;


24. Daphney Conco;


25. Lindokuhle Sibiya;


26. Professor John Gear;


27. Professor Thandi Puoane;


28. Dr Jenny Nash;


29. Dr Arne von Delft;


30. Professor Francois Venter;


31. Melisa Smuts;


32. Dr Jacob M Poo;


33. Jane Simmonds;


34. Dr Refik Bismillah;


35. Dr Chimen Lalla;


36. Dr Beth Engelbrecht;


37. Oupa Motshweneng;


38. Professor Renay Weiner;


39. Dr Nonhlanhla Nxumalo;


40. Dr Nomonde Nolutshungu;


41. Professor Rina Swart;


42. Noluthando Ndlovu;


43. Professor Angela Mathee;


44. Dr Bernhard Gaede;


45. Dr Feroza Motara (EMSSA President);


46. Professor Glenda Gray;


47. Dr Fazel Randera;


48. Dr Morgan Chetty;


49. Professor Wendy Stevens;


50. Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa;


51.  Dr Kate Rees;


52. Peter van Heusden;


53. Professor Ntobeko Ntusi;


54. Dr Heather Tuffin;


55. Dr Shereen Usdin;


56. Dr Louise Gilbert;


57. African Alliance;


58. Sr Debbie Myburgh RPN;


59. Dr Muhammad Saadiq Moolla;


60. Amanda Gcabashe;


61. Professor Wendy Burgers;


62. Professor Linda-Gail Bekker;


63. Dr Billy Ramokgopa;


64. Dr Shuaib Manjra;


65. Professor Girish Modi;


66. Dr Nkaki Matlala;


67. Dr Kerrigan McCarthy;


68. Dr Liz Thomas;


69. Professor Mike Sathekge;


70. Zolile Mlisana;


71. Dr Lawrence Chauke;


72. Dr Priya Soma-Pillay;


73. Dr Akhtar Hussain;


74. Professor Lucille Blumberg;


75. Dr Tendesayi Chakezha;


76. Sibongile Tshabalala-Madhlala (Treatment Action Campaign, national chairperson);


77. Dr Natasha Davies;


78. Professor Ames Dhai;


79. Dr Anna Grimsrud;


80. Dr Hannetjie Ferreira;


81. Professor Jane Goudge;


82. Nikki Schaay-Gaylard;


83. Dr Mahomed Faruk Mahomed;


84. Farzaneh Behroozi;


85. Dr Jenny Coetzee;


86. Minja Milovanovic;


87. African Potential Foundation;


88. Linky Prinsloo;


89. Professor Eric Buch;


90. Professor Ashraf Grimwood;


91.  Dr Faruk Mahomed;


92. Dr Goolam Aboobaker;


93. Professor Helen Rees;


94. Dr Carol Marshall;


95. Professor Prof Lucille Blumberg;


96. Dr James Mcintyre;


97. Melanie Alperstein;


98. Ruth Lewin;


99. Dr Mary Kinney;


100. Shehnaz Munshi;


101. Dr Louis Reynolds;


102. Lynne Wilkinson; and


103. Dr Tom Boyles. DM