Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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I am amazed, with the problems we have with Eskom dragging down the credit rating of our country, that the government has not found a way to encourage solar power. Most countries encourage this via tax incentives. In other words, if you buy a Tesla in America you get a tax incentive for buying a Tesla. It does not make the car that much cheaper, and those incentives have largely run out, but the deductions can be as much as $7,500 on a car which is off-set against your tax. In other words, at the end of the year when you owe the government a certain amount of tax, you can deduct some money in respect of the car you bought.
If you put solar power panels on your roof the same situation applies. Countries that don’t have any power problems are giving these tax incentives and yet South Africa is not. It would be one of the best ways to try and get everybody in the country sorting out their own electrical problems a bit. An incentive that ultimately helps reduce the cost of solar would go a long way. Installing a solar system is not cheap and the savings that you make in terms of not paying for electricity are so slow that the vast majority of people would never be interested in doing it, but if you implement attractive tax incentives, whereby it reduces the cost of installing solar, they might find a lot more businesses ready to help. What would that do? Well, it would reduce the pressure on the grid on Eskom, it would reduce some of Eskom’s costs and it would reduce the pressure that it is putting on the debt rating of South Africa and the risk of a downgrade by ratings agencies. This is such an obvious solution that I am astounded that it has not been looked at and considered by our Government a long time ago.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Wednesday 11-Sep-19
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Comments
Roxanne Rautenbach said:
on Tuesday 22-Oct-19 09:16 AM
If all South Africans had solar power we would have less load shedding.
Ashleigh said:
on Tuesday 22-Oct-19 09:00 AM
We will probably only get solar in our country when the other countries have something even better in the future. We always seem to be back dated with things like this.
Cornelie said:
on Wednesday 02-Oct-19 09:40 AM
Solar does not come cheap but in the long run you will save. South Africa must really start getting with the program and a lot if things will go better for the people of South Africa.
Lourien said:
on Monday 30-Sep-19 09:06 AM
South Africa giving incentives for solar, that would have been great and I am sure everyone would have implement solar to lower the electricity usage from Eskom to make use of an incentive. The only reason we will not obtain incentives is thanks to our "wonderful corrupt government" that needs the money more than our country.
The day they would like to start lifting up our country is when they will start focusing on methods like solar and to be more eco-friendly.
We can only hope that for future generations that this will be implemented.
Lucretia said:
on Monday 30-Sep-19 08:27 AM
I am shocked that you are astounded by the fact that the government is not issuing incentives to people to save. Africa is a 3rd world country and corruption is rife. If more people start looking at ways to save the government money, it means less money in the coffers which means less money to loot.
Brenda Du Toit said:
on Friday 27-Sep-19 07:09 AM
I agree.I think Solar is the way to go because it will save you money . Eskom has failed us to many times
Nicolle said:
on Friday 20-Sep-19 03:13 PM
Isn’t it plain? MONOPOLY! Why would the big, bad, tax man voluntarily offer up an opportunity to dismantle Eskom’s monopoly over electricity in South Africa? Where’s the money in self-sustainable, renewable energy? Should I say more?
Brumilde Cronje said:
on Friday 20-Sep-19 10:02 AM
The Simple answer is that they are all corrupted and one took for the other, and SARS doesnt want to help Eskom, because they like getting money and not having to spend more money on training their staff or any staff for that matter. Its a brilliant idea and we should be implementing it. Its a shame that we live in a 3rd world country with junk status ideas...
Joyce said:
on Tuesday 17-Sep-19 04:59 PM
I think tax incentive is a good idea and hope government will finally take it into consideration and use this idea to encourage solar power
Melissa said:
on Tuesday 17-Sep-19 03:11 PM
This is a brilliant idea to save energy and go green
Daniella said:
on Tuesday 17-Sep-19 08:40 AM
There definitely should be a tax incentive for going solar - it could encourage more people to go "off the grid" a good perk though is that in the long run you are saving on paying for electricity and with load shedding and power outages its extremely beneficial.
Ruby said:
on Tuesday 17-Sep-19 08:39 AM
Tax incentives is a good idea and a first step in the right direction. We also need to work on our energy infrastructure to take full advantage of solar energy.
Henrietta said:
on Tuesday 17-Sep-19 08:36 AM
I agree that more and more people will be interested in solars if a tax incentives. Solar is the solution to the problems we have with eskom i would've imagined that instead of eskom bringing the country down with debt they would encourage us to go for solars. I don't think you would feel the difference immediately but in the long run you ultimately will save more
THEMBI said:
on Monday 16-Sep-19 02:58 PM
People in our government they all think the same no one who came with the right solution,solar is the best and our bill for electricity is gonna be lower
Victoria said:
on Monday 16-Sep-19 09:04 AM
Tax incentives is such a good idea, it is sad that our government hasn't implemented this yet.
Tamaryn said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 04:46 PM
Given that it is the most obvious solution, there must be a reason as to why the government wont do this. I think there are too many people high up benefitting from coal supply and demand.
Alexis said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 04:43 PM
Would be nice to benefit from doing something good in the world, but then it is not something that I see happening in SA.
Angelique Jurgens said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 03:48 PM
I read an interesting article on Moneyweb where they said that businesses who install solar power will soon benefit - I can imagine would be a tax benefit. "Where the company tax rate is 28% and payment is upfront, a 100% tax-deductible depreciation allowance in the year of installation and commissioning will result in a 28% nett discount on the purchase price of the system at the end of the tax year". Business owners will be happy to know that.
Jolene said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 02:59 PM
This is a very good idea, the government should encourage everyone to go green.
Kathryn said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 01:48 PM
A tax incentive would be a great selling point to those who have been resistant in converting to solar due to the initial financial outlay. I do however agree with Patrick in that the government is not likely to promote something that they will not personally benefit from.
Megan said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:52 PM
Change wouldn't happen if it negatively affected the Government and its individuals pockets - if it doesn't benefit them first then its likely not to happen. This would truly be great for our country. I just wish the Government could realises how important certain things are for the growth of this country.
Thabitha said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:33 PM
I think the best solution is to convert to solar and what makes me sad though is that people in our Government they all think alike no one who's looking at thinks in a deferent way or come up with new structures or new ideas.
Zindy said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:10 PM
Very Good point! if you are reliving pressure from Eskom you should somehow be compensated for your bill and alleviating their stress. its costs a pretty penny to get this done so surely it cant be overlooked?
Dune said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:08 PM
I think Solar is the way to go, so many companies and shopping malls are converting to off grid solutions. I think its a great way to go green, save energy and to steer away from ESKOM
Dasanya said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:07 PM
I am also quite surprised that our government has not considered solar energy as a solution to our energy crises. It would definitely be a relief for Eskom and it would work so well but it's certainly not a cheap option.
candice said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:03 PM
I think we should all have Solar seeing as the Electricty problems we have will not get better in this country. As Eskom has failed us so many times
Bianca Taljaard said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:03 PM
This will be great, I don't think that they will implement it in South-Africa
Jessica M said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 12:02 PM
South Africa is always delayed with things. They leave EVERYTHING till it is too late or until things blow up and need money to be fixed. I am so mad with our current power issues.
Prishani said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 11:52 AM
Hopefully this plan is somewhere in the pipeline, when it will be implemented is the problem!
Fikile said:
on Friday 13-Sep-19 11:10 AM
Eskom has failed so many times because some people pay for their electricity and most don't because the very same people that work at eskom come to people house and bridge the electricity and then people pay them but when the is no electricity the same people that don't buy it complain and say eskom is not far. I want to install the solar system at home and just have free electricity.
Claudia B said:
on Thursday 12-Sep-19 01:16 PM
Solar is definitely the way to go and to save. I don't believe that South Africa will Implement this at all.
Mathilda Du Preez said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 11:15 AM
They will never implement this in South Africa, because then our government will not benefit as they do now with all the money they are stealing from us.
Courtney said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 09:00 AM
At least for one thing you are not paying tax! Solar is one of the best ways to save in the long run,
Bianca N said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 08:45 AM
It's funny how they seem to overlook the most obvious solutions, and yet continue to complain about the issues. This is a good idea, and hopefully someday they will implement it.
Michelle Smillie said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 08:05 AM
You make a really good point. The government has provided solar power to some shelters in townships, and of course this was done for free. It thus seems like they are not that set against the idea, however, as Sandra said, your solution will not benefit them in any way. Perhaps someone will come across this post, or will think of this idea as it really is a good one.
sandra said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 07:50 AM
The government is obviously not happy with the solar idea because they will not be benefiting. We should have more solar systems. It saves everyone money in the long run and it will just benefit more people
david said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 07:32 AM
and furthermore, when you 'shed' eskom they have to put their rates up so that the other paying customers can make up the shortfall. of course the non payers don't really care about the cost, so it's just the actual payers that feel the pinch.
patrick said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 07:25 AM
For me the main reason why government is not buying into solar idea is because comrades are benefiting from coal contracts. We have lots and lots and lots of sun. Places like Limpopo and Mpumalanga should be full of solar farms.
david said:
on Wednesday 11-Sep-19 07:06 AM
it is eskom's paying customers which are converting to solar, not the ones who simply take for free.
with the paying customers leaving and only the takers increasing in number, why would government reward you for taking away your money, and more importantly, now that there are less paying customers, where would the reward come from?
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
