Monday, 5 March 2007

Talk Radio 702 morning show host, John Robbie, has welcomed the finance minister’s proposal that certain payments to the families of people killed in the line of duty are tax-free. This is in line with the objectives of Robbie’s Tax Break campaign, which sought to have payouts to families of slain police officers exempt from being taxed.

“I’m delighted Trevor Manuel made provisions for this in his 2007 budget,” said Robbie. “We received
10 000 messages of support for our Tax Break campaign – including that from the safety and security minister, Charles Nqakula. It was clear there was a need for such tax breaks and I’m really happy that this has been achieved. I thank all the 702 listeners for their support and hope this goes a long way to making a difference in the lives of our police officers and their families.”

In announcing his 2007 budget on 21 February, finance minister Trevor Manuel proposed that payments in respect of death while at work, be tax-free up to a monetary cap of R300 000.

In the hours following this announcement, the station fielded many calls from listeners who had supported the initiative. “Our lines buzzed in the shows following the budget speech and I received e-mails and smses from listeners saying thank you for giving them a voice,” added Robbie. “They wanted to help our police officers and we provided the conduit for them to do just that. We were most impressed with the listener feedback we received following the announcement.”

Robbie launched the campaign after the Jeppestown massacre in July 2006, which claimed the lives of four police officers. This, after it became apparent that the payouts these officers’ families would receive, would be taxed. He motioned for South Africans to show their support for tax relief on such payments – and a whopping 10 000 messages were received. These were presented to the National Treasury in August last year.

The Tax Break campaign was recently awarded the best Local On-Air Campaign Award in the regional finals of the inaugural BBC Africa Radio Awards.

Back to Press Centre