Why earning R1 million does not make you a millionaire in South Africa

[Daily Investor]

Why earning R1 million does not make you a millionaire in South Africa

High personal income tax rates and a lack of functioning government services mean that becoming a millionaire requires a lot more than a seven-figure salary.

 

[saor]

Sort of like how publishing drivel doesn't make you a journalist?

 

[Rickster]

Sort of like how publishing drivel doesn't make you a journalist?

 

[Bad Ballie]

I would have gone with earning a million rand only makes you a millionaire in South Africa, to be honest. in the rest of the world, that matters, it just makes you another working class slave to the system. 61 860 Dollars, 45 600 Pounds or 53 400 Euro. The Rand isn't worth much, and is too rough to use as toilet paper.

 

[FiestaST]

 

[Scooby_Doo]

View attachment 1930264

I am not saying R1 bar is a lot a lot. But it's not nothing either if you compare cost of living across borders.

Issue I have is that you might be comfortable in SA at 1 bar, but you get trapped as its not much in the 1st world.

 

[FiestaST]

I am not saying R1 bar is a lot a lot. But it's not nothing either if you compare cost of living across borders.

Issue I have is that you might be comfortable in SA at 1 bar, but you get trapped as its not much in the 1st world.

I concur & this is exactly why I like discussing money matters.

The relativity of money. For a bloke in Camps Bay with a CTC of 300k the concept of 1 Bar is vastly different to the "middle class" bloke with a CTC of 25k.

 

[biena]

Sort of like how publishing drivel doesn't make you a journalist?

You went for the nuclear option.

 

[Steamy Tom]

hurr durr

 

[ToxicBunny]

I concur & this is exactly why I like discussing money matters.

The relativity of money. For a bloke in Camps Bay with a CTC of 300k the concept of 1 Bar is vastly different to the "middle class" bloke with a CTC of 25k.

100%.

Its weirdly something I see relatively often, even in how people refering to monetary values.
Youngsters who work low end starting jobs talking about R1600 as 1.6 like it has some significant(ish) value, which to them it does when they have weekly wages of around R1200 - R1800.

 

[FiestaST]

100%.

Its weirdly something I see relatively often, even in how people refering to monetary values.
Youngsters who work low end starting jobs talking about R1600 as 1.6 like it has some significant(ish) value, which to them it does when they have weekly wages of around R1200 - R1800.

Absolutely.

Then on top of that we have, I've seen a few examples in various fields, a tidy amount paid for such roles

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

And yet you are always writing articles about millionaire ministers...

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

I am not saying R1 bar is a lot a lot. But it's not nothing either if you compare cost of living across borders.

Issue I have is that you might be comfortable in SA at 1 bar, but you get trapped as its not much in the 1st world.

We don't really live comfortably in SA, once half of it disappears into a black hole. This is why it seems like it won't be a lot in first world countries - because you are judging based on what is left of your salary.

In addition they don't get the double tax of paying for things that your tax should already give you. 1 bar is actually more or less the going rate for a professional in New Zealand at direct conversion...

 

[Scooby_Doo]

We don't really live comfortably in SA, once half of it disappears into a black hole. This is why it seems like it won't be a lot in first work countries - because you are judging based on what is left of your salary.

In addition they don't get the double tax of paying for things that your tax should already give you. 1 bar is actually more or less the going rate for a professional in New Zealand at direct conversion...

Yes, SA tax payers are taxed into the ground and then we have to pay again for things the government has failed to provide. Just income tax on R1 bar is R256k - then you gonna spend that again on schools, medical aid and security. And don't forget we need to support every industry in the country through paying higher taxes on things like cars.

 

[Smiggles]

Overseas you pay half your salary on rent however. The whole world is screwed beyond repair.

 

[konfab]

And yet you are always writing articles about millionaire ministers...

The difference is that people in the private sector provide far more than R1m per year in value to their employer or to other people.

 

[Lupus]

Overseas you pay half your salary on rent however. The whole world is screwed beyond repair.

Better than 41% to the ANC for bugger all

 

[Rumple4skin]

I would have gone with earning a million rand only makes you a millionaire in South Africa, to be honest. in the rest of the world, that matters, it just makes you another working class slave to the system. 61 860 Dollars, 45 600 Pounds or 53 400 Euro. The Rand isn't worth much, and is too rough to use as toilet paper.

A millionaire is someone whose assets exceed his liabilities (net worth) by => million bucks. Income doesn't matter.

 

[cguy]

Overseas you pay half your salary on rent however. The whole world is screwed beyond repair.

Not generally true, partially because tax is so high in SA, and then you have the fact that far less is spent on things like transport, security, schooling, etc., and the remaining disposable income is in absolute terms, much higher. Also, “rent” in different countries means different things - a typical US (and to some extent, UK) place may include central heating/cooling, fiber, double pain windows, modern kitchen, etc. the base standard is typically higher.