Traditional African beer spared the usual sin tax hike, E-cigarettes still tax free

If you are a fan of traditional African beer, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has given you a reason to raise a glass. 

While sin taxes have been once again been raised – this happens every time the planet completes its orbit around the sun at this time of the year – traditional African beer, and traditional African beer powder, have been excluded from a hike. According to the Treasury, accounting for inflation, this means that the real tax rate on such products will decline 4.4% from the start of April. 

Malt beer, wine and spirits will see tax spikes of 4.4% and if you have a bourgeois fondness for sparkling wine, your consumption will contribute 6% more to the Treasury in the next fiscal year.

There does appear to be some sort of class bias at work here, a sort of progressive tax by sleight of hand. Patrons of the Saxonwold Shebeen will feel the pinch more than patrons of a shebeen in the old Transkei, for example.

This can also be seen with tobacco tax policy. Regular smokers will pay 4.4% more in taxes, while pipe and cigar smokers will fork out 7.5% more. But electronic cigarettes remain untaxed, though the government intends to start taxing such products from 2021. BM