FairPlay has called on the South African government to make 2025 the year that millions of poor people are helped by the removal of value added tax (VAT) from selected chicken products.
The government had missed this opportunity in 2018 and should not do so again, FairPlay founder Francois Baird said in a statement.
In 2018, chicken was not among the food items freed from South Africa’s 15% value added tax (VAT).
“That was a tragic mistake, because poor people have been paying an extra 15% on every chicken portion they have bought for the past seven years.
“VAT-free chicken is up for consideration again in 2025. This gives the government the opportunity to do now what they didn’t do in 2018 – bring down the price of the chicken products which are an essential part of the diet of low-income households,” Baird said.
The need was even greater in 2025, because millions more people are poor, hungry and jobless. Chicken was South Africa’s most popular meat protein, providing vitamins and minerals to poor families and helping to combat child malnutrition.
The reasons why VAT should be removed from targeted chicken products were spelled out in a submission to government at the end of last year by the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) and the meat importers association AMIE.
“That submission deserves urgent consideration in the 2025 budgeting process. VAT-free chicken is a pro-poor proposal, and the poor are in need of help.” Baird said.
“For millions of poor and hungry South Africans, VAT-free chicken is long overdue.”
