Fuel tax increase to hit South Africa from April

Motorists get ready for another fuel price increase. The National Treasury has announced that there will be an increase in general fuel tax and road traffic accident tax from April 7, 2021.

Motorists will be paying an increase of 15 cents/litre in general fuel tax and an inflation increase of 11 cents for the Road Traffic Accident Fund tax, states BusinessTech.

This will affect the price of public transportation costs too. 38% of the current fuel price which is about R5.88 is made up of the two taxes combined said Dr. Francios Stofberg, the senior economist at the Efficient Group.

Global oil prices could push up the local petrol price higher in the next couple of months, he added.

“And then there is the weather. Colder winters in the northern hemisphere, like the one currently in the United States (US), usually increases demand, causing oil prices to rise.

“Or socio-political tensions flare-up in the Middle East, which can add a couple of dollars to the oil price.”

Stofberg adds that oil prices should not increase by $70 (R1 047,77) a barrel and is roughly around $65 (R973,30).

“But these two factors, the international dollar price of crude oil, and the value of our rand, only make up the basic price of fuel in South Africa. The taxes levied on fuel in South Africa is far more concerning.”

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