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BUDGET 3.0 EXPLAINED

Where your tax money goes — how the state spends every R100

Ever wonder where your taxes are going? Budget 3.0 lays it bare: For every R100 spent, about R13 goes to basic education, R12 to social protection and more than R16 vanishes into debt service costs. Meanwhile, just cents trickle towards arts, job creation and innovation.
Where your tax money goes — how the state spends every R100 How to protect a business if one of the partners dies is one of the most important questions a business owner can ask. (Photo: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Made with Flourish
Some of these expenditure categories seem a bit vague. Let's break them down:
 Social security funds refers specifically to financial reserves and schemes like the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and the Compensation Fund, which provide temporary relief of cover for specific social risks.
Community development typically includes spending on housing, local amenities, and urban or rural development projects aimed at improving living conditions, especially in under-resourced areas.
Economic regulation and infrastructure covers the funding of regulatory bodies as well as infrastructure investments in roads, railways, ports, and other public utilities.
Public administration and fiscal affairs involves the National Treasury, tax collection, budgeting, auditing, and general bureaucratic oversight.
Payments for financial assets generally means expenditure like bailouts, equity injections into state-owned entities, or purchasing shares and other financial instruments. DM

Comments (2)

Keith Wilson May 22, 2025, 07:28 AM

Well, the priorities seem right, but where does the money really go? Because the top 4 (ignoring debt servicing) are a mess. How much of the R100 is wasted/stolen? Fix that... Fix BBBEE so that it actually does what it's supposed to. And, maybe we'll have a chance

stalker May 22, 2025, 09:35 AM

How much does the bloated cabinet and all their perks cost ? What about VIP protection which could easily be cutback. It's a joke !!! We're a country with first world aspirations but third world capabilities.