The tax bill of South Africa’s ‘Big Four’ Banks

A recent report published by PwC revealed that South Africa’s top four banks paid R18.6 billion in direct taxes during the first half of the current fiscal year – with individual payments ranging from just over R2 billion to R6.3 billion.

PwC’s Major Banks Analysis Report was compiled on Standard Bank, Absa, FirstRand, and Nedbank, following their interim results in September.

According to the report, the combined headline earnings of these four banks rose by 16.8% to R55.8 billion in the first half of 2023. Their revenue benefitted from higher interest rates, balance sheet growth, and efficiencies from the digitalisation of their services, said PwC. 

Market volatility also benefitted their trading revenues. 

Despite the increased risk outlook, major banks maintained resilient balance sheets with capital and liquidity well above regulatory requirements. Unprecedented levels of balance sheet provisions were made in anticipation of forecasted risks.

How much tax the ‘Big Four’ pay

South Africa’s ‘Big Four’ banks paid a combined R18.64 billion in direct tax in the first half of 2023 – R1.04 billion more than the R17.60 billion paid in H1 2022.

Standard Bank was the largest taxpayer, paying R6.31 billion in direct tax. FirstRand was the second-largest taxpayer, paying R5.78 billion. Absa paid R4.3 billion in direct tax, whilst Nedbank paid R2.25 billion.

The report shows that the four banks paid a significant amount in direct tax, which is an important source of revenue for the South African government. Direct taxes are taxes that are paid directly to the government, such as income tax and corporate tax.

According to Efficient Group’s data, the three most significant contributors to the government’s tax revenue are personal income tax (PIT), value-added tax (VAT), and Corporate Income Tax (CIT).

Of the R1.95 trillion, PIT contributes R640 billion (33%), VAT accounts for R471 billion (24%), and CIT provides R336 billion (17%).

Only 1.12% of taxpayers (roughly 163,702 South Africans) pay 30% of total personal income taxes in the country, while 19% pay a whopping 87% of total personal income taxes.

However, this is even worse when you look at CIT.

A staggering 0.09% of corporate taxpayers (only 770 companies) pay 62.5% of total CIT, with 4.4% paying 95% of total corporate income taxes.

The report also shows that the four banks are among the largest taxpayers in South Africa. This is because they are large and profitable businesses. The banks generate a significant amount of income, and they pay a significant amount of tax on that income.

When considering Efficient Group’s estimated R336 billion in CIT revenue, these four banks alone pay 5.5% of the total CIT paid to the government annually in the first half of the year.

The payment of direct tax by the four banks is a positive development for the South African economy. It shows that the banks are contributing to the government’s revenue base, which is used to fund essential public services such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure.

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