The National Treasury gives tax-free benefits to members of the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) but not to individuals, which is resulting in only big business being supported on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Small companies are unable to attract investment because of the rules to which ASISA members are subjected.
As a result, small businesses are forced to list on stock exchanges outside of South Africa, even though their operations are inside the country, or on the continent. The upshot is that shareholders on foreign stock exchanges are reaping the rewards that could be reaped internally.
For instance, a tin mining company that could not source ASISA member funding when it listed on the AltX in 2017 has yielded 220% so far – but it is Canadian investors that have, in the main, benefited. Government must force the National Treasury to end its big-business bias when allocating tax benefits; those tax-free allocations must also apply to individuals who invest in small companies, as is the case in Canada. But the Treasury is frighteningly unresponsive.
Questions sent to them several weeks ago have solicited no response at all. Our initial email was not even acknowledged and had to be followed up. Very sad.