The Democratic Alliance’s urgent court application to interdict the pending VAT increase is being heard in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, 22 April.
ALSO READ: DA in urgent court bid to interdict VAT hike on 1 May
The VAT hike is scheduled to come into effect on 1 May, and the DA is taking legal action to prevent what it believes to be an unjustified burden on already struggling South African households.
The party contends that the increase will further escalate the cost of living, disproportionately affecting the poor and vulnerable.
The DA Spokesperson on Finance, Dr Mark Burke, spoke earlier outside the court, before proceedings started.
Burke says the DA opposes the “anti-growth, anti-jobs and anti-poor VAT-based budget.”
“We oppose a debilitating and bulldozing budget that will lead to further poverty by taking money from people who can’t afford it and giving it to people who don’t know how to use it.
We oppose a bullying budget that will lead to more young people losing hope when they realise they will be poorer than their parents.
We oppose a bleeding budget that will lead to more South Africans wondering why their house value has gone down for another year in a row.
We oppose a blind and blundering budget that will make it more expensive to get to and from the little work left within our borders.”
He says the DA has assembled an exceptional legal team which is sitting in front of a well-regarded bench of judges, and they hope for a favourable ruling in court.
ActionSA, along with other smaller parties and the ANC, helped get the fiscal framework of the budget, which included the VAT hike, approved earlier this month.
ActionSA initially claimed victory, saying they had ‘prevented’ a VAT hike from coming into effect.
The DA’s court battle comes as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in a responding affidavit last Thursday, argued that the 50 basis point VAT increase cannot be reversed because retailers and wholesalers have already adjusted their prices accordingly.
Godonwana is adamant that VAT will be hiked on 1 May.
Following court arguments today, it was announced that judgement will be delivered on 29 April, 2 days before the VAT increase is due to take effect.
