The Western Cape provincial government is looking to introduce a provincial fuel levy, over and above the national levy currently imposed on all South African motorists – but it likely won’t be coming for a while.<\/p>\n
Speaking to BusinessTech on Monday (26 March), spokesperson for the Western Cape’s ministry of finance, Daniel Johnson, said that process is outlined in the Provincial Tax Regulation Process Act.<\/p>\n
However, he clarified that the\u00a0Western Cape Government also supports the principle of evidence-based practice, and that the process must be underpinned by research.<\/p>\n
“The decision taken in April\/May 2017 by the Western Cape Cabinet is that before any consultation can happen, the fuel levy research which was done in 2005 will have to be updated. The legislation is quite clear on what needs to be considered,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The research will take about 8-9 months and will inform the cabinet\u2019s decision on whether to proceed or not.”<\/p>\n
Johnson said that the additional funds\u00a0would go into the Provincial Revenue Fund and allocated as prescribed by the current legislative and fiscal frameworks.<\/p>\n
“As outlined in the attached legislation, it cannot be a unilateral decision and even if a decision is taken to go ahead, it will take at least 5-6 years to finalised,” he said.<\/p>\n