Posted:
by QW+ staff writer
Financial Policy affects women the most whether its VAT or other austerity measures
When government officials hinted at increasing VAT, so many South Africans, especially women+, didn’t just hear tax jargon. They felt a deep, gut-level anxiety. When the price of basics like bread, soap, or electricity goes up, it’s not policy; it’s panic. For millions living on the edge, a hike in the price of bread, soap, or electricity isn’t a policy shift; it’s a survival crisis.
That’s why the government’s decision to not go ahead with the proposed VAT increase was a welcome relief to many South Africans, especially women +. It’s a small but significant victory for women + and working-class people, who carry the weight of attempting daily survival on shrinking incomes.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is the most felt and most misunderstood tax. It’s regressive and it does not consider how much you earn, whether your income is R3,000 or R300,000 a month, the rate is the same. And that’s the problem. For those living paycheck to paycheck, VAT eats into every loaf of bread, every bar of soap, every unit of electricity.
In homes where second-hand uniforms are a privilege and dinner sometimes means skipping a meal, a VAT increase would feel like further punishment. Single mothers, gogos raising grandchildren, and young women+ navigating unemployment, would have paid the price first.
Even though some goods have been zero-rated, some of the essentials of daily life are still heavily taxed and not on the zero — rated list. Baby formula, reusable menstrual products, school shoes and public transport form a big chunk of many women+ headed households surviving on a single income.
So yes, VAT reversal is good news, but it also raises bigger questions…
Why are the poor the first to be asked to fix the economy? Why not tax luxury goods more aggressively? Why not close corporate tax loopholes or hold accountable those who mismanage public funds?
This moment must be more than relief, it must be a reminder of the power of voices raised together. The decision didn’t change in a vacuum, it changed through collective political and civil society action, concern, debate, and resistance.
It’s important to stay vigilant as economic policy is never neutral and while VAT will not be increased, there may be budget cuts coming to social spending, which may itself have a negative impact on the same working class people and women+. Policy making reflects power dynamics, who has it, who uses it and who it will harm the most when important decisions are made behind closed doors. The women queuing for healthcare, the gogos raising grandchildren on pensions, the domestic workers sending money home every month, they’re sadly not in the boardrooms where these decisions are made. But they’re the ones who feel the impact first and hardest.
But all is not lost. History reminds us that change often begins with community. Resistance doesn’t always look like protests and placards. Sometimes, it looks like mothers coming together to form stokvels. It looks like sharing food parcels with a neighbour. It looks like speaking up in local forums, making noise online, or asking tough questions at your next clinic or school meeting.
Today, we celebrate a reprieve. But we keep speaking. Because for many women+ in South Africa, this was never just about tax. It’s about dignity. It’s about fairness. And it’s about survival.
Wendy Papo is the Quote this Woman+ Database and communication manager.