Motorists should brace for a hefty fuel levy increase when finance minister Pravin Gordhan presents the budget speech to Parliament on 22 February.<\/p>\n
Motorists have already experienced two consecutive petrol price hikes in the first two months of 2017.<\/p>\n
Petrol has increased by 79 cents so far this year, while diesel is already up by 60 cents per litre amid rising oil prices.<\/p>\n
Independent economist Dawie Roodt said he was almost certain that finance minister Pravin Gordhan was going to push up the fuel levy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government has a R28-billion hole to fill in its budget and about the only line items left where he can levy substantial taxes are VAT and taxing the middle class,” Roodt said.<\/p>\n
Neil Roets, CEO of debt management company Debt Rescue, said he was fearful of the impact that increased taxes and levies will have on deeply indebted consumers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am convinced that we are going to see a substantial increase in the fuel levy which together with rising crude oil prices is going to cause the fuel price to skyrocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know that when the price of fuel escalates, the prices of everything else rises in concert,” he said.<\/p>\n
Gordhan announced a 30 cent increase to the fuel levy in 2016, taking it to R2.85.<\/p>\n
“The fiscus will need another R15-billion in 2018-19. This will require more than routine tax increases and once again the middle class is probably going to have to shoulder the bulk of these taxes,” Roets said.<\/p>\n
He called on consumers to take a long hard look at their own skyrocketing indebtedness and learn to live within their means.<\/p>\n
Roets said more than half of all consumers were three months or more behind in their payments. The major culprits are credit and store cards followed closely by unsecured debt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is these people who are going to bear the brunt of the government\u2019s inability to curb spending which results in higher taxes year after year.”<\/p>\n
Roets said the latest statistics compiled by Debt Rescue showed that personal loans still outnumber other types of debt.<\/p>\n
This is a shift from previous periods, when store cards were the highest category for 18-20 year olds. In the age group over 65, credit cards were the most prevalent debt category. There was a slight decline in mortgages in the over 65 age group, Debt Rescue said.<\/p>\n