US creative software giant Adobe will begin levying VAT on South African subscribers from 2020, the company said on Wednesday.

In a note to clients, Adobe, which makes the popular Creative Cloud software subscription suite — which includes apps such as Photoshop and Illustrator — said that from January 2020 it will begin to charge 15% VAT to local clients.

“Once implemented, your future statement will reflect the new tax rate,” it said. “Note that this change does not affect the base price of your Adobe plan.”

Creative Cloud costs US$600/year in South Africa (R8 880 at the time of writing); with VAT included, the price will rise to $690, or about R10 210.  — (c) 2019 NewsCentral Media