South Africa: An Unbearable Tax Burden

A family man with a salary of R100,000 a month can pay up to 80% ‘tax’ in South Africa Shaun Jacobs • 29 March 2026 South Africa has one of the most heavily burdened personal income tax bases in the world, with around 2.4% of individuals paying 77% of all personal income tax. The country also has a highly progressive personal income tax system, with high-income earners making over R887,001 per year taxed at a rate of 41%. While South Africans are heavily taxed, these formal taxes do not cover the additional costs individuals pay due to the government’s failure to provide basic services. This includes education, healthcare, and security, with individuals having to pay private schools and companies to provide services that the state is meant to provide. While private education has historically been the preserve of the wealthy in South Africa, it is becoming increasingly mainstream as many state schools suffer from years of mismanagement and inadequate investment. Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt has previously said that these payments, in the form of school fees, security levies, and medical aid, can be considered an additional “tax” on South Africans. In effect, in these regards, individuals are double-taxed, as they have to pay for these services out of their own pocket on top of personal income tax. MyTreasury co-founder Michael Kransdorff explained that the mismanagement of South Africa’s state-provided education, healthcare, and policing means individuals are compelled to pay for these services from private alternatives. Furthermore, the personal income tax paid by South Africans does not include the multitude of other ways the South African government taxes individuals. This includes value-added tax (VAT) on nearly all purchases, excluding VAT-exempt food items, as well as several fuel taxes levied at the pump. Individuals who save and invest in stocks, property, and other assets face several additional taxes, including a 20% flat tax on dividends and a capital gains tax. Interest earned from bank savings accounts or fixed-income investments is added to an individual’s taxable income and taxed at their marginal tax rate, with the first R23,800 being tax-free. As a result, an individual’s tax burden in South Africa is significantly greater than the headline personal income tax rate, largely due to the additional private services they have to purchase to make up for shortfalls in government-provided services. Family man earning R100,000 per month as an example To illustrate the situation, Daily Investor used the example of an individual who earns R100,000 per month, or R1.2 million a year, before tax. This income is generally considered high, and someone earning this amount is widely regarded as rich in South Africa. However, calculations show that this individual is left with significantly less spending money than typically assumed, with private-sector alternatives to state services eating up a substantial chunk of their paycheque. Most South Africans would look at the headline figure after tax, which in this case is R67,965 after the individual pays PAYE, the Skills Development Levy (SDL), and contributes to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). The individual’s UIF contribution is capped at R177.12 per month, while the SDL payment is 1% of their paycheque, R1,000. In Daily Investor’s example, the calculation continues to include medical aid payments, private school fees, an estate levy for security, property rates, and fuel levies. Daily Investor assumed the individual’s partner did not work and that they had two children. The family lives in Johannesburg. The family’s two children attend Curro Primary and Curro High School in Rivonia, with one in grade six and the other in grade ten. Their combined school fees come to R21,860 per month. Regarding medical aid, the individual has a Discovery Classic Smart Comprehensive scheme, with their partner and two children as additional dependents. This comes to an estimated R18,498 per month. The individual receives tax relief in the form of medical aid tax credits, which vary depending on excess payments. Including these payments, Daily Investor assumed tax credits of R2,749 per month. For this example, the family lives in Waterfall Country Village Estate, which includes 24/7 security. This estate has a levy of R3,610 per month. Daily Investor assumed the family would live in a R3 million house. At Johannesburg’s property rates, this equates to R2,146.25 per month as the first R300,000 is exempt. The individual pays a series of other municipal levies on their property, including refuse removal, sewage, and electricity and water tariffs. For this calculation, Daily Investor focused on the levies charged and not the total utilities bill. These levies amount to R2,908.86. Regarding fuel levies, Daily Investor assumed the individual drove a petrol-engined Toyota Hilux and filled its 80-litre tank twice a month with 93-octane petrol. Using the National Treasury’s breakdown of fuel taxes for the new financial year, which includes increases to the General Fuel Levy and Road Accident Fund Levy, the individual will pay R1,052 in fuel taxes per month. The taxes, including payments for private services to replace deteriorating public alternatives, and their impact on the individual’s income can be seen in the table below. Item Amount Gross salary R100,000.00 PAYE R30,857.75 UIF R177.12 SDL R1,000.00 Total after payroll taxes R67,965.13 Medical aid R18,498.00 Medical aid tax credits R2,749.00 Private schooling R21,860.00 Estate levy R3,610.00 Property rates R2,146.25 Refuse removal R456.00 Sewage R900.00 Electricity tariffs R1,185.00 Water tariffs R367.86 Fuel levies R1,052.00 Total remaining R20,630.00

South Africa: Rosebank: An Urban Oasis

https://www.news24.com/life/travel/in-transit-48-hours-in-rosebank-johannesburgs-walkable-urban-oasis-20260304-1038?lid=pr63tby7neju

Senegal's Youth Turn On The President

Senegal’s Youth Turn on the President They Helped Elect SENEGAL Senegal In March 2024, Senegalese voters outmaneuvered a term-limited leader attempting to stay in power, propelling a young opposition candidate just released from prison into the presidency and giving his party a legislative majority later that year. It was students at the forefront of that victory. Now, two years later, many of those young voters say they feel betrayed by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, blaming his administration for failing to disburse students’ financial aid payments and for the violence at recent protests over the stipends that killed one student. “We were just kids, but we were fighting for him – I can’t believe he is doing this to us today,” Khadija Ndiaye, 19, a history student, told the Associated Press, adding that she hasn’t received her payments for three months. “He said in his campaign videos that a student can no longer survive without a stipend. It is not normal today for him to stand before us and say that a student can survive without a stipend.” Ndiaye added that the government doesn’t understand or care about students’ realities. “(Officials’) kids are not even in Senegal, they’re in the United States, Europe, anywhere,” she said. “You’re never going to see the son of a minister or a president here at the university.” The ongoing protests broke out in December at Senegal’s top public university, Cheikh Anta Diop University, in the capital of Dakar, over unpaid government financial aid payments to students. The payments range from 20,000 to 60,000 CFA francs (between $36 and $109) per month, and are often the students’ only source of income, and at times, an entire family’s. Some students say they haven’t been paid in a year. Part of the problem with the payments lies in Senegal’s economic situation. After the new administration took over, it conducted an audit that found hidden debt inherited from the previous administration, which left a $13 billion budget hole. Talks with the International Monetary Fund for financial aid have stalled. As a result, bills have gone unpaid, the government’s reform plans have stalled and public grumbling has grown over cuts and a dire economic situation that has hit those under 35 – 75 percent of Senegal’s 19 million – the hardest. At the same time, repeated closures by the university over the past few years, also due to protests, have caused problems with the payment schedule. In 2024, students protested in support of Faye and current Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who were key opposition leaders at the time. Their pledges to tackle corruption and turn around the economy raised the hopes of many young Senegalese, helping to bring them to power in spite of attempts by President Macky Sall to stay put: His regime jailed Sonko, barred him from running in the elections, canceled the vote, and instituted a deadly crackdown on protesters opposing his administration. The protests that broke out in December, meanwhile, were initially peaceful. However, violence broke out when university officials closed campus cafeterias after students refused to pay for meals, and when officials closed the dorms, forcing some students to return to their villages in the countryside. During these demonstrations, some students set buildings and cars on fire and clashed with police, who, human rights groups say, used “disproportionate force” against protesters, deploying nightsticks and tear gas, detaining students and allegedly “torturing” one to death. One student, Ablaye, recounted to Agence France-Presse how police repeatedly hurt him: Police officers forced their way into his room in the student dorm, dragged him out and beat him in the hallway. He says he was beaten again and again by three more groups of officers. “When I was bleeding too much, they took me to the Red Cross,” he said, displaying a dozen stitches on his head. “I knew it would be like this with this regime, it’s business as usual – a break with the past is impossible.” Still, the death of Abdoulaye Ba, a second-year medical student who was not a protester, was a tipping point, say observers. Since then, Senegalese officials have admitted to police brutality and promised an investigation into the student’s death. Interior Minister Mouhamadou Bamba Cissé expressed his condolences to Ba’s family. Even so, he said violence was caused by both parties. However, a state prosecutor said last week that Ba, who died of head injuries, was killed in a fall from his fourth-floor dorm room, setting off new outrage among the students. Student Madawass Diagne, who helped raise funds to pay for students’ journeys home after the student housing closed, told Reuters he voted for Faye and now felt let down. “We are (facing) the same injustices we were fighting against (before),” he said, referring to the prior administration. “It’s like (the president) betrayed a whole country.”

Moroccan Lawyers End Strikes After Government Withdraws Cautious Reform Bill

Moroccan Lawyers End Strikes After Government Withdraws Contentious Reform Bill MOROCCO Morocco Moroccan lawyers ended a weekslong nationwide strike this week after the government suspended a draft law regulating the legal profession that critics said would undermine lawyers’ independence, Agence France-Presse reported. The Association of Moroccan Bars (ABAM) said Monday that the breakthrough came after Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch pledged to “personally take charge” of the bill in cooperation with the association by “putting in place a mixed commission” of officials and legal practitioners to initiate dialogue. The government has decided not to forward the draft to parliament for a vote until the committee completes its review. The strike began on Jan. 7, a day before the government approved the bill, which was aimed at modernizing the sector and strengthening anti-corruption safeguards. Lawyers said the bill would limit their profession’s constitutional role in the justice system and demanded to be part of the drafting process. One key point of contention was a provision granting courts direct disciplinary power over lawyers, a function traditionally handled internally by bar associations. The draft also proposed new requirements to study law, including a master’s degree in legal sciences, an entrance exam to a training institute, and an age limit of between 22 and 40, the Rabat-based Morocco World News reported. Lawyers have questioned whether these conditions balance merit and equal opportunity. Others also voiced concern over the new administrative obligations and oversight mechanisms that lawyers said could affect professional autonomy. Morocco’s Ministry of Justice countered that the draft law was necessary to update legal frameworks that govern lawyers and strengthen the quality of legal services. Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi insisted that “the legal profession needs change.” However, Ouahbi, who initiated the bill, told parliament earlier this month he was “ready to drop, modify or reform anything that harms lawyers.”

Central Africa Republic's Election Underscores Wobbly Stability

Central African Republic’s Election Underscores a Wobbly Stability CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Central African Republic Recently, the top US adviser for Africa, Massad Boulos, was invited to visit the Central African Republic for talks on military and diplomatic partnerships as well as investment opportunities, particularly in the mining sector. The Central African Republic has significant reserves of untapped but critical minerals that include diamonds, gold, uranium and rare earth elements, which have long interested Russia, China, the US and others. Beyond wanting to dislodge Chinese and Russian influence, analysts say US interest also reflects growing stability in the Central African Republic since 2021, when rebel militias nearly captured the capital, Bangui. The country also held a successful and relatively violence-free election in December, they add. Even so, some are questioning whether the progress the country has made is sustainable. “For many residents (…), the ballot carried the promise of normalcy, or at least continuity, in a region long starved of both,” the UN wrote. “That promise, however, remains elusive.” Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world, has experienced decades of violence and instability, including six coups. In 2013, the country saw an explosion of fighting when predominantly Muslim Séléka rebels seized power, taking over Bangui and ousting President François Bozizé. Christian Anti-balaka militias fought back, with mobs burning mosques and killing Muslims by decapitating and dismembering them. The violence went on sporadically, intensifying and spreading in 2018 after a period of relative calm as armed groups battled over areas rich in gold, diamonds, uranium and other minerals. Thousands died in the fighting, with hundreds of thousands displaced by the conflict in the country of about 5 million. Soon after, President Faustin-Archange Touadera hired Russian mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, who prevented those groups from taking control of Bangui in 2021 – after six of 14 armed groups vying for control withdrew from a 2019 peace agreement. Since then, the Russian mercenaries have served as personal bodyguards for Touadera, playing a key role in propping him up in the guise of helping him defeat rebel groups: The group reportedly wrote the text of the constitutional referendum that removed term limits, which would allow the president to remain in power indefinitely, Le Monde reported. It also helped him win the referendum with 95 percent of the vote, aided by a Russian disinformation campaign, the French publication added. Still, the elections held late last year were a major accomplishment and a sign of stability, analysts say. Voters cast their ballots for candidates running for presidential, legislative, regional and municipal offices. Touadera won a third term in a landslide, garnering 78 percent of the vote. However, it was not a vote to be held up as a model of democracy, said critics, who complained the election was marked by fraud and meddling, reported the Associated Press. Election authorities rejected the opposition’s appeals. The Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution, the main opposition party, boycotted the vote, added Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, as the capital remains relatively peaceful, guarded by a mix of Russian mercenaries and UN peacekeepers, violence continues to spread across the country, fueled by rebels, government forces and other militants, wrote Human Rights Watch. Abduction, the forcible recruitment of children as soldiers, sexual violence and attacks against civilians are still rampant. The proximity of the civil war in neighboring Sudan has also concerned aid officials, who worry that fighting might spill over the border or that Sudanese migrants fleeing war might destabilize the country further. “There is no fence, no physical barrier marking the end of one country and the beginning of the other – just a dried-up riverbed spanning the invisible line drawn on maps,” said UN officials. Already thousands of refugees are making their way to a “fractured country still piecing itself back together,” they added. For example, Birao, a northern town on the border with Sudan, now hosts more than 27,000 Sudanese refugees – an overwhelming number for a community of about 18,000, UN officials say. There, tensions have occasionally flared between refugees and local residents. More recently, a militia that the Wagner Group recruited, trained and armed to fight rebels and Fulani pastoralists – largely Muslim nomadic cattle herders – turned against the government. Separately, fighting has flared in the remote southeastern Haut-Mbomou area since late December between government forces backed by Russian mercenaries and the Azandé Ani Kpi Gbè militia, a community self-defense force from the Azandé ethnic group. The unrest comes as Russia seeks to replace the Wagner Group with its Africa Corps, which would assume a training role only, a shift that would cost the country a fortune – it currently pays with minerals – and could jeopardize the president and the government’s hold on power. Fulbert Ngodji, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told World Politics Review that the progress is mainly that no province is currently controlled by armed groups. But he added that this is a mixed blessing, while noting that it is unclear whether the situation will remain stable. “These (armed) groups, which live off violence through looting or mining exploitation, have not genuinely disarmed and continue to pose a threat,” he said. “In some regions, the army has become the main source of insecurity (and violence).”

South Africa: Some Afrikaner Refugees Are Suffering In the US

Cold, hungry and living in squalor: Afrikaner refugees ‘struggling’ in US Grass isn’t greener? A bombshell report revealed the struggles of some Afrikaner refugees who left South Africa for the US… Author picture By Megan van den Heever 13-02-26 20:23 in Lifestyle afrikaner refugees us 7 Some Afrikaner refugees in the US are living in dire conditions. Image via Canva A bombshell report by an independent US publication claims that some refugees – predominantly Afrikaners – left South Africa to face even worse conditions in their adoptive countries. This comes a year after US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order prioritising refugee resettlement for predominantly white South Africans through the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) The president claimed that the minority faced “unjust racial discrimination”, labelling transformative legislation as “persecution”. SA authorities have since accused Trump of “spreading misinformation” about the country. ADVERTISEMENT To date, close to 2000 South Africans have departed the country on the programme. AFRIKANER REFUGEES ‘STRUGGLING’ IN THE US – REPORT According to the US publication, The Free Press, an investigation revealed that some Afrikaner refugees were living in poor conditions. An investigative journalist spoke to ten South Africans, who bemoaned being placed in mouldy, dirty motels and apartments infested with cockroaches, and living amongst drug addicts and criminals. Many claimed to have little to no food, eating just one meal a day to survive. Others lived in freezing temperatures, without warm coats, and had to travel long distances in the snow to their nearest grocery store. Some complained about the high cost of living, adding that much of their earnings went towards rent. Speaking anonymously to protect their identities, here is what a few had to say… “We come from a place where you have to grow a set of eyes on the back of your head. Only to move to another unsafe place and be told by the locals you’re now in harm’s way.” ADVERTISEMENT “I understand I am a refugee, and I am very grateful. But I can’t, in my right mind, pay to live with cockroaches.” “We did not have blankets, towels, beds, or any basic necessities. We only had our bags from South Africa and the clothes on our backs”. The publication spoke to a social worker, Amanda Emery, who had spent hundreds of dollars out of her own pocket to help refugees get on their feet. She said: “I gave them air mattresses and pillows, because their beds weren’t appropriate. I’ve taken them to the ministry to get clothing. I feel like they’re being neglected, and the agency is setting them up for failure.” Also speaking to the publication was NGO, The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), which claimed it was “focused on supporting economic self-sufficiency and social integration, ensuring newcomers can build stable lives within their new communities. US intel expert Chris Wyatt has responded to the report, accusing many refugee assistance agencies of maladministration. WHAT ARE THEY ENTITLED TO? Under the refugee resettlement programme, South Africans receive federal resettlement support, which covers accommodation placement, short-term Medicaid, and their children are placed in local schools. Families receive a small stipend based on their needs. Assistance agencies contracted to the government are paid to provide food, clothing, and housing supplies. They also offer support in skills assessment, job preparation, and integration into US communities. 7 comments WIN R2 000: Take The South African’s SASSA Survey Tags: afrikaner refugee Donald Trump Featured Important Post navigation Next Article Previous Coloured Afrikaner ‘refugees’ in US speak out: ‘We’re tired of lies’ Discover ‘Shame on you!’: ‘Wife’ of arrested Afrikaner in US speaks out Discover Health Insights Magazine Shoulder Pain is Not From Sleeping Wrong. 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Cape Town: Hidden Nature And Outdoor Escapes

Hidden nature and outdoor escapes in Cape Town Beyond Cape Town’s famous beaches and landmarks lies a quieter side of the city, one shaped by hidden trails and overlooked green spaces. By Nadine Burger 30-01-26 12:53 in Cape Town Beach in Langebaan 0 A beach in Langebaan. Image: Instagram/nadine_burg_ Cape Town is often celebrated for its iconic attractions, but many of its most meaningful outdoor experiences happen far from busy tourist routes. Tucked between suburbs, mountains, and coastline are natural spaces that reward curiosity and a slower pace. These places are not always marked on itineraries, yet they form part of everyday life for many locals. What makes these outdoor escapes special is their sense of calm. They allow people to experience Cape Town’s biodiversity without queues, noise, or pressure to capture the perfect photo. From quiet forest paths to peaceful stretches of coastline, these spaces offer room to breathe. Exploring hidden nature also changes how the city feels. Instead of rushing between landmarks, you begin to notice details, the sound of birds, the smell of fynbos, the rhythm of the ocean. It’s a reminder that Cape Town’s beauty isn’t only found in famous views, but in moments of stillness. The Pipe Track Running along the slopes of Table Mountain, the Pipe Track is a relatively flat walking route with sweeping views of the Atlantic Seaboard. It’s ideal for sunset walks and attracts far fewer crowds than summit hikes. Route details are available via South African National Parks. Cecilia Forest On the eastern side of the mountain, Cecilia Forest offers shaded trails, streams, and a peaceful atmosphere. It’s perfect for weekend walks and picnics, especially on hot summer days. Hidden Tidal Pools Along the Coast Beyond popular swimming spots, quieter tidal pools exist along the False Bay coastline. Areas near St James and Kalk Bay offer calmer waters and fewer visitors. There are many trails where one can enjoy, Especially lovely coastal runs. View this post on Instagram