CAPE TOWN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — The South African government on Wednesday announced two tax relief measures to encourage businesses and individuals to invest in renewable energy and increase electricity generation.
From March 1, 2023, businesses will be able to reduce their taxable income by 125 percent of the cost of an investment in renewables, said the country’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his 2023 budget speech at the Cape Town City Hall. There will be no thresholds on the size of the projects that qualify, and the incentive will be available for two years to stimulate investment in the short term, according to the minister. “We will also introduce a new tax incentive for individuals to install rooftop solar panels to reduce pressure on the grid and help ease load shedding,” Godongwana said.
Individuals who install rooftop solar panels from March 1, 2023, will be able to claim a rebate of 25 percent of the cost of the panels, up to a maximum of 15,000 rands (about 825 U.S. dollars) and this incentive will be available for one year, he said.
“The lack of reliable electricity supply is the biggest economic constraint,” Godongwana said, noting that the ministry is proposing a debt-relief arrangement for the state-owned power utility Eskom.
South Africa is currently in a state of national disaster to cope with the power crisis. Eskom is implementing stage-6 load shedding from Monday, with households having to go without electricity for more than eight hours a day.
