Not On Our Watch: Da Moves To Block Vat Hike Through Legal Action

The Democratic Alliance DA on Thursday filed an urgent court application at the Western Cape high court against what it said were procedural and constitutional irregularities in approving a fiscal framework that will probably see an increase in VAT.

The party has also accused the ANC of not negotiating in good faith within the government of national unity GNU, warning that the VAT hike would exacerbate the countrys cost of living crisis.

Speaking outside the court, DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille and finance spokesperson Mark Burke detailed the partys bid to interdict the staggered VAT increase proposed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, which would see the first 0.5 percentage point hike take effect on 1 May.

The court filing comes a day after the National Assembly voted by a narrow margin on Wednesday to pass the fiscal framework, despite the DAs refusal to support it.

In the debate preceding the vote, Burke argued that a recommendation by parliaments finance committee that Godongwana use the next 30 days to find an alternative to the VAT increase was not worth the paper it was written on.