Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Godongwana raises 2026/27 tax revenue forecast by R17.1 billion

Published

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told the National Assembly on Wednesday that gross tax revenue for 2026/27 is now forecast at R2.144 trillion, up from R2.127 trillion in the budget. He said higher commodity prices drove much of the gain.

Godongwana spoke while delivering the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. He said corporate tax collections, helped by mining and high commodity prices, are projected at R398.5 billion. That is R34.2 billion above the budget estimate of R364.3 billion. Mineral and petroleum royalties rose by R6.8 billion.

The estimate for personal income tax rose to R846.4 billion and net VAT to R533.9 billion. The dividends tax estimate rose to R51.1 billion from R45.6 billion. Provisional corporate tax collections grew by 17.4% over the first six months, compared with 2025/26.

Some estimates fell. The fuel levy forecast dropped by R30.9 billion to R74 billion, because of temporary fuel levy relief from April to June 2026. The "other" tax category fell by R10.6 billion to R76 billion, after the repeal of the electricity generation levy from 1 January.

Godongwana warned that the commodity gains will fade. He said, "A large portion of this improvement is due to higher commodity prices, and these gains are expected to dissipate over the medium term."

The South African Revenue Service had collected R52.4 billion in tax debt by the end of September, out of a projected R126 billion for 2026/27. Godongwana also said the final design of a national online gambling tax will be announced in the February 2027 budget.

Key facts

Who
Godongwana (Finance Minister (speech on the medium-term budget policy statement)); South African Revenue Service (tax collection agency that had collected R52.4bn in tax debt by end-September); Treasury (published a discussion paper on an online gambling tax last year); Enoch Godongwana (Finance Minister)
What
In the MTBPS speech delivered on Wednesday in the National Assembly, Godongwana announced upward revisions to tax revenue projections for 2026/27, with corporate tax, dividends tax, personal income tax and VAT estimates raised, while fuel levy and other-category estimates were lowered. He also said the final design of a national online gambling tax would be announced in the February 2027 budget.
When
21 October 2026
Where
South Africa
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update