The Economic Freedom Fighters were not frightened of taking on “the big boys” who controlled the South African economy and had robbed some R600bn over ten years through transfer pricing and other financial shenanigans, its leader Julius Malema has told a media briefing at parliament.
Malema said the Financial Intelligence Centre had told the finance standing committee that there were occurrences of transfer pricing in South Africa “coupled with other forms of illicit corporate activities...that cost the South African economy more than R600bn...”.
Blind eye
Malema said despite this reality “there is still no legislation in South Africa which forbids transfer pricing, base erosion and profit shifting by corporate criminals who rob South Africa of massive potential wealth”.
This robbed the fiscus of taxes which could have provided better services to citizens and could have reduced the glaring income disparity of the South African population, the EFF leader, who described himself as a revolutionary during the conference, said.
He accused the ruling ANC and the official opposition DA of either being unaware of these practices “or (they) have deliberately (been) turning a blind eye to these (practices)”.
Malema said he and his party knew they were challenging “the big boys” - the face of international white capital - who had pawns in all the major institutions, including the South African Revenue Service.
Transfer pricing
Floyd Shivambu, an EFF MP and former ANC youth league spokesperson, said that although South Africa had the biggest reserves of mineral wealth in the world, mining only contributed R25bn a year in tax, a small slice of the national economy of some R3trn.
“The mining capitalists are engaged in these practices of transfer pricing... and profit shifting (abroad),” he said.
They take their profits to tax havens such as Switzerland, the Virgin Islands, London and Mauritius, he charged.
“That is how they avoid taxes ... double taxation,” said Shivambu.
“The African continent is being raped by corporate criminals,” said Shivambu.
Malema said his party was aware of the dangers of taking on the big boys. Many big corporates had huge security intelligence agencies which were bigger than that of the government. Nevertheless “we are ready to take on the big boys”.
- Fin24
