Finance minister Tito Mboweni delivered what's been dubbed "the toughest budget yet" on Wednesday afternoon.
Addressing Parliament, Mboweni admitted the country has been hammered by a "decade of weak economic performance", but he remains optimistic.
If he was under any strain, Mboweni certainly did not show it.
The jovial finance minister started off his speech by announcing some good news for cash-strapped taxpayers - those who earn R10 000 a month will pay 10% less in the new financial year while those who earn R100 000 per month are set to pay 1.5% less.
As expected though, sin taxes have increased slightly. Smokers will fork out 74 cents more for a packet of 20 cigarettes, while alcohol consumers will pay between 8 cents and R2.89 more for drinks ranging from beer to wine.
SIN TAXES:
A 340ml can of beer or cider will cost only an extra 8c
A 750ml bottle of wine will cost an extra 14c
A 750ml bottle of sparkling wine an extra 61c
A bottle of 750 ml spirits, including whisky, gin or vodka, will rise by R2.89
A packet of 20 cigarettes will be an extra 74c
A 25 gram of piped tobacco will cost 40c more
A 23 gram cigar will cost an extra R6.73
To adjust for inflation, the fuel levy goes up by 25 cents per litre, of which 16 cents is for the general fuel levy and 9 cents is for the Road Accident Fund levy.
To support the property market, the threshold for transfer duties is adjusted. Property costing R1 million or less will no longer be subject to transfer duty.
The largest spending areas will be learning and culture, which receives R396 billion followed by health at R230 billion, and social development with R310 billion.
