Retailers’ tills will ring to tax relief tune

ED RICHARDSON
TAX RELIEF for bottom- and middle-income earners would contribute towards a continuation of steady growth in retail sales, according to BOE Private Clients analyst Barbara Price-Hughes. It is estimated that tax relief announced by finance minister Trevor Manuel in the 2006 budget will put another R13.5 billion in the hands of taxpayers this year. While only 49% of the cash benefit will accrue to those earning less than R150 000 a year, the increase in disposable income to these consumers has greater impact than on wealthier people, who can afford luxuries anyway, according to Price-Hughes. Research indicates that the number of poorest people, the unemployed and informally employed, is shrinking as economic growth propels people into formal jobs.