South Africans work 136 days extra for the government

In 2025 to date, South Africans will have worked 136 days or just over four months to cover their tax obligations and fund government spending.

The Free Market Foundation (FMF) recently released this statistic as part of its ‘Tax Freedom Day’ campaign.

The FMF is a classical liberal think tank founded in 1975 to promote and defend the principles of individual liberty, private property, free enterprise, and limited constitutional government in southern Africa.

Every year, the foundation celebrates ‘Tax Freedom Day’, the first day of the year on which South Africans have theoretically earned enough income to pay their collective taxes.

In 2025, this day falls on 16 May, meaning the average South African has laboured 136 days – around four and a half months – to fund government spending.

The FMF tracks this amount by adding up taxes like VAT, PAYE, and other forms of indirect taxation, such as inflation.

The organisation then spreads this total across the year to show the total tax burden ordinary South Africans face in one clear way.

Then, it takes the government’s total expenditure as a percentage of the country’s economic output or GDP, and multiplies it by 365 days, adding one day.

The result is the number of days South Africans “work” for the government before they start earning money for their own expenditure.

“Every rand you earn until mid-May goes to taxes – whether it’s income tax, VAT, or fuel levies – before you can spend on your family, home, or dreams,” said FMF Senior Associate Professor Richard Grant.

“Taxes don’t just take money; they shrink opportunities. Taxing activities like earning or buying reduce jobs and drive up prices, hitting workers and small businesses hardest.”

He explained that state expenditure is a good proxy for the tax revenue SARS acquires for the government.

This is because it also includes the accumulating burden of deferred taxation through the debt financing of government budget deficits and the net wealth transfers of inflation.

South Africans working more for less

The FMF has tracked the day of the year on which Tax Freedom Day falls since 1995 and found that it occurs later every year. For example, in 1995, Tax Freedom Day fell on 23 April, significantly earlier than in 2025.

Grant attributes this to increased government spending, which has jumped from 30% of GDP in 1995 to nearly 37% in 2025.

“Later tax freedom days signal a growing burden threatening your financial freedom,” the foundation said.

“Higher taxes mean less money for you, and South Africa’s tax burden is already among the highest for a developing country.”

“Meanwhile, economic growth is slowing and many feel they’re getting little in return, like poor state education and out-of-control crime.”

The foundation explained that Tax Freedom Day enables South Africans to ask, “Are we getting value for our taxes?” 

“For the months of work we all do for the state’s benefit and the trillions of rands we hand over without question, we’re not so sure,” it said.

The FMF’s claims of declining service delivery in the country can be seen in areas like Johannesburg, where residents often have to go without power, water and other essential services due to government mismanagement.

JoburgCAN regional manager Julia Fish recently argued that Johannesburg residents pay a “double tax” because of this.

She explained that service delivery and maintenance problems in South Africa’s richest city have resulted in residents being subject to a system of “double taxation”.

This is because, in addition to their existing taxes, Johannesburg residents have to pay to fix the city’s problems.

“We’re under a level of double taxation. We’re having to step in and fill our own potholes and take over traffic lights,” Fish said. “And we’re not seeing a return.”

“So not only are organised businesses and residents pumping money into the rate system and not seeing a return, they’re then having to get their own private medical aid, having to get their own private security.”