The South African tax mix and economic growth

Abstract

The research reported in this paper suggests that government fiscal policy can influence economic growth through alterations in the tax mix and the overall size of government spending. The authors estimate the impact on economic growth of changes in fiscal policy via government expenditure, direct taxation and indirect taxation. The results show that economic growth is negatively affected by increases in the size of government, as reflected in its expenditures and direct tax revenues, although significant indirect tax effects are not found.