South African Tax

[couchy]

I have a friend who tells me that the majority of coloured people in SA do not pay tax even if they are working whilst white workers are taxed to the hilt. I have to say I don't beleive her, does anyone know if this is true?

[rekstout]

Could this be something to do with coloured workers not earning above their tax allowances due to poorer pay or working for cash-in-hand? Just a wild guess anyway.

[geofbob]

I'm sure rekstout is right - the average wage in SA is below �30 per week, on which you certainly would not pay tax in the UK, and of course most of the people at the bottom of the SA heap are black. But doubtless a well-paid black accountant or lawyer will be paying as much income tax as his white counterpart. Also, it appears that until fairly recently SA tax was not levied on income from non-SA sources, and there was no Capital Gains Tax; these gaps in the tax system have now been remedied, and some rich, white folk may be feeling badly done to.

[couchy]

Many thanks