South Africa Ditches Tax Hike That Tested Ruling Coalition (1)

South Africa’s National Treasury will scrap a proposed tax increase that threatened to rupture the nation’s coalition government. The rand rallied.

A bill will be introduced in parliament proposing that the value-added tax rate be retained at 15%, the Treasury said in a statement on Thursday. The reversal comes days after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said he sees no alternative to the tax increase, which was set to raise the levy to 15.5% on May 1.

“The decision to forgo the increase follows extensive consultations with political parties, and careful consideration of the recommendations of the parliamentary committees,” the Treasury ...