Monday, December 14, 2009

DA welcomes Finance Ministry's opposition to public broadcaster tax

By Khanyisa Tabata
14 December 2009

The Democratic Alliance welcomes Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan's rejection of Minister of Communications Siphiwe Nyanda's proposal to earmark a 1% direct tax for the public broadcaster.

In a response to a Democratic Alliance parliamentary question, Minister Gordhan stated that the proposal "is not prudent" and "is not under consideration by the National Treasury".

DA’s Dion George says in its present form, they believe the bill constitutes a money bill, and would thus fail to pass constitutional muster, as it has been introduced by the Minister of Communications in violation of section 73 of the Constitution.

“We welcome the Minister of Finance's assurances that he has no intention of introducing such a bill.

“The precise reason the SABC is facing such a crisis at the moment is that it has failed to hold its own people to account, particularly in terms of their misspending,” said Dion George.

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