The Department of Transport is looking at using the Taxi Recapitalisation Grant to help minibus taxi owners switch to electric vehicles, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said.
Creecy shared the idea in an interview with Newzroom Afrika. She said sales of electric vehicles in South Africa have grown a lot in 2026.
“I suppose it’s a no-brainer that consumers would look for ways of reducing the cost of fuel,” Creecy said.
The minister said the government was exploring ways to speed up the move to electric vehicles. This could include support for the minibus taxi industry.
“For example, the Taxi Recapitalisation Grant, whether there’s a way in which we could use that to give the industry access to electric vehicles,” she said.
Creecy said her department was worried that only people who can afford electric cars would buy them. She said public transport could be left behind with older vehicles that cost more to run and fix.
Petrol and diesel prices have gone above R30 per litre. According to TopAuto, this hits low-income commuters hardest, because they use public transport to get to work.
The Taxi Recapitalisation Grant is a capital subsidy paid from the National Revenue Fund. This means the money comes from taxes paid in South Africa, MyBroadband reported.
The plan has raised questions about how little tax the taxi industry pays. Most payments in the industry are made in cash. This makes it hard for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to track earnings.
The taxi industry makes an estimated R90 billion to R100 billion a year in revenue, according to the report. In 2021, the finance minister said in a parliamentary reply that the industry pays only about R5 million in tax each year.
“This means that the vast majority of taxi operators and owners are declaring no corporate tax income at all and are not paying payroll tax for their drivers and employees,” the DA said at the time.
Under the Tax Administration Amendment Act, hiding income and tax evasion are crimes. They can carry a prison sentence of up to two years.
Earlier in 2026, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said SARS would focus on the informal economy to widen the country’s tax base.
“This includes the informal economy and the taxi industry. SARS is also working to detect and respond to illicit financial flows and other forms of non-compliance,” Godongwana said.
SARS said it is helping businesses to register, understand their tax duties, file returns and pay what they owe. It said it does this through support, education, simpler processes and risk-based action.
In the 2024/25 financial year, SARS added 21,890 taxpayers who were not registered before. This brought in an extra R314 million in revenue, SARS said.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TopAuto.co.za. Image: TopAuto.co.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.