5 Things you need to know about the 2019 budget speech

When Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered his budget speech in parliament on 20 February 2019, there was one group of South Africans who were listening avidly, and a second group who were busy sticking their heads in the sand as far as it would go. If you form part of the second group, we get it 100% - it can be very disheartening to get bad news every time you switch on the evening news. This is why soapies and cooking shows are so popular; it whisks us away from reality to enjoy a brief reprieve.

However, if you want to stay on top of your financial planning in South Africa in 2019, it pays to know what’s cooking in the national budget. Here are a few key take-outs from the Minister Mboweni’s speech in March to get you up to speed:

Indulgences are being taxed quite heavily

Sin tax is going up! Beer goes up by 12 cents, a 750 ml bottle of wine by 22 cents, a 750 ml bottle of sparkling wine by 84 cents, a bottle of whiskey by R4.54, a pack of 20 cigarettes by R1,14, and a cigar by about 64c.

Travelling gets more expensive

Planning an extensive road trip holiday in the near future? You’d best factor in that fuel levies are about to increase by 29 cents per litre for petrol and 30 cents per litre for diesel. This is also likely to impact the cost of using public transport like taxis and busses.

Grant recipients are getting a reprieve

Pensioners, disabled individuals, war veterans and care dependents will receive an R80 increase; while foster care grants go up by R40. Child support increases to R420 in April and R430 in October.

Informal settlements will benefit from development

R14.7 billion has been set aside for the upgrading of service delivery platforms in informal settlements over the course of the next two years.

Parliament will be keeping overheads low

Members of Parliament, provincial legislatures and executives at public entities will not be receiving salary increases in 2019.

There you have it – 5 things you need to know about the 2019 South African budget speech. Keep an eye on the blog in coming weeks and months as we share more expert insight into the financial landscape in sunny SA. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to a Libertine Consultants representative to learn more about our credit services and debt services.