{"id":97279,"date":"2025-04-25T16:08:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=97279"},"modified":"2025-04-25T16:08:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:08:58","slug":"legal-challenge-to-vat-hike-da-and-eff-unite-over-procedural-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/legal-challenge-to-vat-hike-da-and-eff-unite-over-procedural-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Challenge to VAT Hike: DA and EFF Unite Over Procedural Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Neelam Rahim | <a href=\"mailto:neelam@radioislam.co.za\">neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a><br \/>\n3-minute read<br \/>\n25 April 2025 | 13:00 CAT<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_97280\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97280\" data-attachment-id=\"97280\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/legal-challenge-to-vat-hike-da-and-eff-unite-over-procedural-concerns\/screenshot-2025-04-25-160301\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-160301.jpg?fit=627%2C386&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"627,386\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot 2025-04-25 160301\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-160301.jpg?fit=300%2C185&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-160301.jpg?fit=627%2C386&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-97280 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-160301.jpg?resize=300%2C185&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"185\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-97280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">DA and EFF challenge VAT hike in urgent court bid, citing constitutional flaws and public harm. Image: Se-Anne Rall\/IOL<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In a rare show of unity, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have launched a joint legal challenge at the Western Cape Division of the High Court to halt the Finance Minister\u2019s 0.5% VAT increase scheduled for implementation on May 1st.<\/p>\n<p>The opposition parties are not opposing the increase itself, but rather questioning the <em>procedural legality<\/em> behind its adoption. Speaking to<a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/radioislam\/legal-challenge-to-vat-hike-da-and-eff-unite-over-procedural-concerns?si=0653c792504546e08bc8666162eb6fcf&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing\"> Radio Islam International<\/a>, legal expert Cameron Phillips stated, \u201cThe shake-up centres around the procedures involved in the adoption of the VAT hike, as well as constitutional issues surrounding the minister\u2019s powers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The DA seeks to urgently suspend the adoption of the financial framework, arguing that the report was adopted without the proper acceptance of its recommendations. \u201cThe DA&#8217;s argument is that the resolution adopting the framework is fundamentally and constitutionally flawed,\u201d Phillips explained.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the EFF\u2019s application mirrors much of the DA\u2019s legal reasoning, with some minor differences. The EFF intends to join as co-applicants, seeking further relief against the Finance Minister. Despite ideological differences, both parties agree that due process was not followed.<\/p>\n<p>Key to the legal strategy is the request for an interim interdict. \u201cTo succeed, the DA and EFF must demonstrate a prima facie right, apprehension of irreparable harm, balance of convenience in their favour, and no alternative remedy,\u201d said Phillips. He stressed the urgency of the matter, noting that the DA had contacted the minister prior to court action but received no response.<\/p>\n<p>One of the central arguments is the potential <em>irreparable harm<\/em> to ordinary South Africans. \u201cGiven the economic climate, it&#8217;s clear that such a hike would cause irreversible damage to a large portion of the public,\u201d warned Phillips.<\/p>\n<p>As the court deliberates, the case underscores a growing demand for transparency and accountability in tax decisions. \u201cThe public has a right not to be taxed without representation,\u201d Phillips concluded, highlighting a principle at the heart of the legal bid.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Cameron Phillips <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/radioislam\/legal-challenge-to-vat-hike-da-and-eff-unite-over-procedural-concerns?si=0653c792504546e08bc8666162eb6fcf&amp;utm_source=clipboard&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=social_sharing\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 25 April 2025 | 13:00 CAT In a rare show of unity, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have launched a joint legal challenge at the Western Cape Division of the High Court to halt the Finance Minister\u2019s 0.5% VAT increase scheduled for implementation on May [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":97280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-160301.jpg?fit=627%2C386&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pj1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-16 15:25:20","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}