South Africa Treasury reportedly considers tax hike to fund vaccines

National Treasury is considering raising taxes as one of several possible mechanisms to fund the vaccination drive against Covid-19, Business Day reported.

The government viewed the vaccines as a public good and was committed to financing their rollout, with or without support from the private sector and medical schemes, the Johannesburg-based newspaper reported, citing Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane.

Other options the Treasury is exploring include widening the budget deficit and reprioritising government spending. The pandemic was a good case for emergency funding, Business Day cited Mogajane as saying.

The department of health has estimated a maximum cost of R20 billion to vaccinate the entire country, while more recent internal estimates done by the Treasury are far lower than this, the newspaper said.

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