Tax is one of the greatest inhibitors of small business development. The high level of taxes, the enormous volume and complexity of the tax laws, and the administrative sophistication required to comply with these laws are daunting even for well-educated entrepreneurs. For those who through no fault of their own were educationally deprived, it would be easier to climb Mount Everest without oxygen than to understand and comply with all tax laws. There is an urgent need for simplification and preferably also for a reduction in tax rates. That great and well-proven engine for wealth and job creation, the small firms’ sector, will continue to splutter and choke until there is serious tax reform. Economic growth will be curtailed, unemployment will continue to rise, and social instability will worsen.
The objective of the Laws Affecting Small Business series is to draw the attention of legislators to those laws and regulations that have a negative impact on small business in South Africa and to provide advocacy groups with an instrument to lobby for change.
