National Budget

Question 1

What is the National Budget?

Answer 1

The national budget sets out how much money a government has made and how much money it has spent in a year. It’s the government’s estimate of its income and expenditures. Its what the Government plans to spend for programmes and projects and where the money will come from.

Question 2

What is the National Treasury?

Answer 2

The National Treasury manages the South Africa’s national governments finances.

Question 3

Who is the Minister of Finance?

Answer 3

Tito Mboweni

Question 4

What does Tito Mboweni do?

Answer 4

He decides how to spend the money the SouthAfrican government raises in taxes, debt and charges.

Question 5

What are taxes?

Answer 5

The amounts of money people pay to the government for public goods and services.

Question 6

What are charges?

Answer 6

The prices of goods and services.

Question 7

What is debt?

Answer 7

The cost of borrowing money.

Question 8

What is revenue?

Answer 8

The money that the government collects is called revenue.

Question 9

Name 2 types of taxes.

Answer 9

1. Indirect tax

2. Direct tax

Question 10

What is indirect tax?

Answer 10

Indirect taxes are taxes that people pay indirectly without even knowing through businesses and municipalities.

Question 11

Name 7 types of indirect tax.

Answer 11

1. VAT
2. Sin tax
3. Customs duty
4. Import tax
5. Municipal tax
6. Fuel tax
7. Transport tax

Question 12

What is direct tax?

Answer 12

Taxes paid directly to the government for the goods and services the government provides.

Question 13

Name 2 types of direct tax.

Answer 13

1. Income tax (Pay As You Earn)

2. Business tax: Paid on the profits of the business.

Question 14

Name 3 ways that the government can earn money besides tax.

Answer 14

1. Property that it rents out
2. Interests on investments
3. Borrowing money, when there are fewer taxpayers
   because the economy is not growing and people are losing jobs.

Question 15

Why does the government want to encourage jobs and economic growth?

Answer 15

The government raises most of its money from taxing the workforce, therefore the government wants to encourage jobs and economic growth to get more money.

Question 16

Name 3 ways the government encourages jobs and economic growth.

Answer 16

1. Public transport to get workers to work cheaply and quickly
2. Job creation projects that need unskilled workers
3. Education

Question 17

What are social grants?

Answer 17

Social grants are amounts of money the government gives to poor people and old people.

Question 18

Name 4 ways that the government is trying to correct its mistakes in 1994.

Answer 18

1. Social grants
2. Free education for the poor
3. Free primary healthcare for the poor
4. Free water and electricity for the poor

Question 19

What are wants?

Answer 19

Things we don’t really need but would
like to have it.
Each person will have different wants
which will change with time.

Question 20

Wants are limited/unlimited.

Answer 20

Unlimited.

Question 21

Name 3 wants.

Answer 21

Sports car, cellphone, holidays.

Question 22

What are needs?

Answer 22

Things we must have in order to stay
alive.
Needs are items which people cannot live
without.

Question 23

Name 4 needs.

Answer 23

Water, shelter, clothing, food

Question 24

What are services?

Answer 24

Its something done for someone else.
Sometimes people are paid for their
service, sometimes they are not.

Question 25

Name 3 services.

Answer 25

Hair salon, Police, Firefighters

Question 26

What are goods?

Answer 26

Something you can see and feel.

It is something you can use.

Question 27

Name 4 goods.

Answer 27

Car, books, bicycle and clothes

Question 28

What is fiscal policy?

Answer 28

Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to monitor and influence a nation’s economy. It is the sister strategy to monetary policy through which a central bank influences a nation’s money supply.

Question 29

What is monetary policy?

Answer 29

Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country, typically the central bank or currency board, controls either the cost of very short-term borrowing or the monetary base, often targeting an inflation rate or interest rate to ensure price stability and general trust in the currency.

Question 30

What is income in a Government?

Answer 30

Income that is received by the Government from taxes

Question 31

What are expenses in a Government?

Answer 31

Money that is spend by the Government on certain things the country needs

Question 32

Name 8 types of income.

Answer 32

Personal income tax
Corprorate income tax
Value added tax (VAT)
Fuel levies
Excise duties
Customs duties
Other taxes
Loans

Question 33

What is sin tax?

Answer 33

Tax paid on cigarettes, alcohol and sugar to discourage people from buying these items
Sin taxes are used to increase the price in an effort to lower the consumption
To increase and find new sources of revenue
Increasing a sin tax is often more popular than increasing other taxes.
However, these taxes have often been criticized for burdening the poor

Question 34

Name 9 areas of expenditure.

Answer 34

Education
Welfare
Health
Housing
Transport and communication
Protection services (police, defence)
Water and agriculture
National Debt
Other

Question 35

Name 6 social grants.

Answer 35

Grant for older persons
Disability grant
War Veteran's grant
Foster Child grant
Care Dependency grant
Child Support grant
Grant-in-Aid