How government policies will affect taxpayers and their advisers

‘Welcome to ‘Money, Markets, and Masterminds,’ – a Citywire South Africa podcast – that delves into the intricate world of finance, investment and strategic decision-making.If you’re a fund selector or an independent financial adviser looking for insights, analysis and expert opinions to enhance your perspective, you’re in the right place, with me editor Ruan Jooste.Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his annual national budget speech in parliament on Wednesday. It is one of the key tools, together with the State of the Nation Address, that transpired earlier in February, that the members of parliament can use to hold the government accountable for what it had promised to deliver and for how the allocated budget is spent.Citywire South Africa covered the budget extensively during the course of Wednesday around the myriad of issues ranging from government’s spending, to how the fiscus will be replenished through policies and plans.I attended a media briefing with the South African Institute of Taxation (or Sait for short) following the budget, where it shared its impressions of the annual event – where tax matters usually get the boring lap in the run. The professional body said that very little breakdown was done on how new tax proposals will be applied or the taxpayer will be impacted.As such, I invited Sait CEO Keith Engel into the studio to assist me to paddle through the nuances of tax and how government policies are going to affect taxpayers and their advisers.Engel is also the former chief director of tax policy at National Treasury.