BBSA
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- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
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- Location
- People's Republic of South Africa
Middelburg , mpumalanga
You guys must join the National Taxpayers Union
About 220 South African towns were withholding their municipal taxes due to poor service delivery, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) said on Thursday.
NTU board member Jaap Kelder said towns were fed up with potholes, water interruptions, inadequate waste removal and overgrown bushes on the roadside and therefore opted to "withhold" their municipal taxes until the services were provided
"It is not a tax boycott, we are withholding the money. It's very important to make that distinction. The residents pay the amount due into a trust account and the money will be paid to the municipalities once the grievances have been sorted," he said.
Kelder said the initiative, undertaken by ratepayers associations in various towns, began in 2005 with residents declaring formal disputes with their municipalities over poor service delivery.
The municipal taxes are paid into a fund run by the ratepayers association or legal trust accounts.
"It will go on as long as services are not delivered," Kelder said.
In some towns residents began carrying out various municipal functions themselves.