The 2026 Budget offers an opportunity for the National Treasury to reduce VAT and eliminate BEE premiums, according to the latest paper in the Blueprint for Growth series published by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR).
The paper, produced in collaboration with IRR Legal, details evidence and arguments for the proposition that cutting VAT and BEE premiums from public procurement will save South African consumers R100 billion, to the benefit of poor people especially.
IRR Legal Executive Director Gabriel Crouse will discuss details of the proposal with IRR Projects and Publications Manager Terence Corrigan in a webinar tomorrow.
The paper says that cutting VAT and BEE premiums
- will stimulate economic and jobs growth;
- is the most popular choice, and
- will alleviate poverty.
Th 2026 report builds on the 2025 report of the same name. Key new developments are:
- National Treasury’s concession to IRR Legal that value-for-money procurement is constitutionally compliant;
- National Treasury’s admission to IRR Legal that the state currently categorises race as “goods and services” in the annual budgeting process for BEE premiums, and
- recent polling by the IRR, and others, indicating the mass popularity of both cutting VAT and cutting BEE premiums.
Tomorrow’s webinar starts at 10am. To join, go to: https://streamyard.com/watch/fAckCPff68nV