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Podcast: First Take SA
Episode: ActionSA Rejects Rates Bill, Claims It Fuels Illicit Trade and Punishes Legal Business
Description: ActionSA has rejected the Rates and Monetary Amounts Bill in the National Assembly, saying the legislation, as it stands, fuels the illicit economy and punishes legal business. Parliamentary member Alan Beesley told the House the country now has two economies: a legal one growing at barely one percent and an illegal one expanding at over six percent a year. He blamed repeated above-inflation excise duty hikes for making legal cigarettes, alcohol and other goods far more expensive than their illicit counterparts. Elvis Presslin spoke to ActionSA Member of Parliament, Alan Beesley