April 5, 2022
South Africa's FairPlay calls for removing VAT on poultry prices
South Africa's FairPlay trade movement has called for the removal of value added tax (VAT) imposed on individual quick frozen chicken parts to ease the impact of soaring food and fuel prices on consumers, IOL South Africa reported.
A study by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) in 2018 found that if taxes were removed from individual quick frozen (IQF) chicken, it could result in ZAR 1.2 billion. (~US$82 million; ZAR 10 = US$0.69) in tax revenue losses. The data found that IQF accounts for 58% of all chicken sales in the country.
In a roundtable discussion, FairPlay also discussed the establishment of a national food safety agency in South Africa to monitor poultry standards, especially from imported foods.
Gwynne Foster, a panelist on the roundtable, said the fragmentation of government departments, resulted in a lack of a food safety agency. She said it would require department of agriculture and of health to work together to establish this agency.
- IOL South Africa