Gauteng continues to pay the bulk
of taxes in the country and can
ill afford the planned tolls in the
province, according to economists
interviewed by FTW.
Renowned economist Mike
Schüssler said while it remained
difficult to measure the exact
impact of the tolls prior to
their implementation later this
year, they were expected to hit
consumers’ pockets hard.
“Gauteng consumers already
pay 52% of all South Africa’s
taxes. With the implementation of
the toll system they are going to be
paying even more,” he said. “The
exact impact of the tolls will only
be picked up after implementation
as they have not been part of the
CPI basket that we have been
measuring. Having said that they
will obviously increase the cost
of commuting in Gauteng and all
indications are that lower-priced
goods like bread and milk are
going to see the biggest price
increase.”
He said effectively the research
was showing that the residents
in the province, while it was the
biggest economically speaking,
were going to be paying more than
any other province’s residents.
“Tax collection is very
ineffective on a toll road system
as well and if our calculations are
correct Sanral is looking at a 16%
collection fee. That is very high,”
said Schüssler, “especially if one
takes into consideration that Sars’
collection fee is only 1%.”
Sarah Truen, an economist with
DNA Economics, agreed with
Schüssler, saying that as one was
drastically increasing the cost of
the only mode of transport in the
province, the tolls were going to
have a dramatic impact.
“Essentially what is happening
is the systematic increase in
costs without any functioning
alternatives.”
Whilst the government has
come under severe criticism
for the R20-billion debt it has
incurred with the Gauteng
Freeway Improvement Project,
there is no other way forward but
to implement a user-pay principle,
the deputy minister of Transport,
Jeremy Cronin said.
But, said Schüssler, if the
government wants to implement
a user-pay principle it should do
so across the board and not just on
transport.
Sanral’s toll collection fee ‘very high’
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