–– Charles Russell

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Recently, I was encouraged by an article in the Business Day. It praised South Africa’s finance minister, Mr Enoch Godongwana, for rejecting a proposal to introduce a wealth tax – that is, a tax on the assets of certain wealthy individuals in addition to the normal income tax that they pay at the highest rate.

While the world, particularly in popular politics, has long since abandoned biblical principles, it was heartening to see a politician doing the right thing, although his motivation might have been influenced by practicality rather than morality. There are, of course, many global examples of how wealth taxes actually result in lower tax collection as wealthy individuals leave the country—a valid concern for a country like South Africa, where nearly 80% of personal income tax is collected from just 2.4% of its population!