Tshetlhe Litheko reviews three economic current topics:
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Tax revolt: SARS says that tax collections in August were down 20% in August, with a sixty billion shortfall. The shortfall was due to a drop in economic activity and lower compliance from taxpayers. Commissioner Edward Kieswetter appealed to South Africans to not ‘fiddle with’ their taxes, even though he understands that some may feel justified to do so out of frustration over government waste and corruption.
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The South African economy recorded its third consecutive quarter of economic decline, falling by 2,0% (seasonally adjusted and annualised) in the first quarter of 2020.1 This followed a contraction of -1,4% and -0,8% in the fourth and third quarters of 2019, respectively. The results presented here cover the period 1 January 2020 to 31 March 2020, which includes the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa and some of its trading partners.
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South Africa’s largest retailer, Shoprite on Tuesday (8 September), reported a healthy rise in its key market for the 52 weeks to 28 June 2020, despite significant Covid-19 lockdown restrictions impacting the group. Supermarkets RSA operating segment increased sales by 8.7%, representing a R9.8 billion increase to R122.4 billion. Supermarkets Non-RSA continuing operations’ sales declined by 1.4% in rand terms, however, it increased by 6.6% in constant currency terms
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