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IOL News
10 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa's unknown regressive tax
South Africa, and pretty much all countries today, have a regressive tax, but it is a hidden one imposed by the government, so there is no outrage against it. Image: AI Lab. ACCORDING to reports from the SA Revenue Service (Sars), South Africa has a progressive tax system. This means that the more people make, the more they are taxed. The following table shows the various tax brackets, ranging from 18% to a monstrous 45%. In South Africa, the more you earn, the more the government takes from you. There are many who argue that this is fair, that those who make more money should pay more. I am not one of these people. However, I doubt there's any sane person who would argue for a regressive income tax, where the poor pay a higher percentage of their income to the government. Calling for such a tax would cause an outrage such as South Africa has never seen; the poor would take to the streets in protest and might even turn on the rich. Any government that proposes such a ridiculous tax is sure to lose future elections. What if I told you that South Africa does, in fact, have a regressive tax, one that puts a heavier burden on the lower class in society? South Africa, and pretty much all countries today, have a regressive tax, but it is a hidden one imposed by the government, so there is no outrage against it. As a matter of fact, 'progressive economists' who claim to stand for the poor cheer on this regressive tax and argue that it is required for the economy to grow. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The regressive tax is hidden, and so people don't know they are paying it. To understand how this is so, one must first understand the effects of taxes. Taxes come in many forms, but the effect is always the same: they leave you with less money. Whether it's income tax, value-added tax (VAT), or fuel levies, they reduce how much you can spend, save, or invest. There is one tax, however, that never appears on your payslip. It doesn't go through Parliament, and it doesn't need your vote. That tax is inflation, and in South Africa, just as with everywhere else, and is a regressive tax in its effects, it hits the poor hardest. Most people think inflation just means prices are going up. But that's only what we see. Inflation starts when more money is pumped into the economy. The more rands are created, the less each one is worth, and as money loses value, prices rise across the board. Now here's where it gets worse. When the government or the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) adds new money into the system, it isn't handed out equally (not that this would be a good thing). It goes first to banks, big businesses, and government-linked insiders. These groups get to spend the new money before prices rise. By the time the money reaches the rest of the population — especially salary earners, pensioners, and the poor — prices have already gone up. Their salaries stay the same, but now they buy far less. This is known as the Cantillon Effect, and it's exactly how inflation becomes a regressive tax. The rich benefit first and dodge the damage. The poor are hit last and hardest. Their food costs more. Transport costs more. Rent goes up. But their income doesn't. Even if the number in their bank account stays the same, they are poorer in real terms. No one debates this tax. No one votes for it. Yet everyone pays it, especially those at the bottom, and because it doesn't show up as a line item or a deduction, people don't realise it's the government draining their wealth quietly, through money printing and credit expansion. Inflation is not just an unfortunate side effect of economic policy. It is a feature of the current system. Every time the money supply grows, value is taken from those who earn last and given to those who receive first. This is wealth transfer from the poor to the rich, and it happens every day. South Africans don't need more money that buys less. They need stable money that holds its value. They need to be free from the hidden tax that punishes them without their consent. Until that happens, the poorest in South Africa will continue to pay the highest price. If progressive activists take time off virtue signalling and fighting for things that not only don't matter, but will undoubtedly make society worse, and focus on this regressive tax stealthily imposed on the people by the government, they might actually help the poor. * Econ Bro is a Nigerian Austrolibertarian economist and an apprentice at the Mises Institute and an Associate of the Free Market Foundation. ** The views expressed here do reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media.
IOL News
05-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
South African REIT sector posts 4. 1% gain in May, outpacing equity and bond markets
The shares of South Africa's listed commercial property sector continues to rise steadily in May from a slow start at the beginning of the year as interest rates continue to decline, there was a small reprieve in global tariff regimes and local property fundamentals improved. Image: AI Lab The South African REIT sector continued its upward trajectory in May, posting a 4.1% gain, once again outperforming the equity market returns of 3.1% and the 2.7% rise in bonds, said Ian Anderson, Head of Listed Property and Portfolio Manager at Merchant West Investments. Anderson, compiler of the SA REIT Association's monthly Chart Book, attributed the sector's improving sentiment to expectations of lower interest rates in South Africa, a small reprieve in global tariff tensions, and growing evidence that property fundamentals are strengthening. 'These trends set the stage for higher distributable earnings growth across the sector in 2025 and 2026,' said Anderson. The REIT sector gain in May builds on April's 6.9% surge, bringing the sector's year-to-date return to 6.7% - a recovery from a slow start in January. While the sector's performance still trailed the broader equity market's gain of 14%, SA REITs had now outpaced the bond market in 2025, signaling renewed investor confidence, he said. This comes as South Africa's 10-year government bond yield recently dropped to below 10% for the first time in more than three years. May saw several REITs reporting their financial results, reinforcing the sector's ongoing recovery: Redefine Properties results for the six months to end-February 2025 saw revenue up 3.5% and distributable income per share rising 0.7%, leading to an interim dividend increase. Full-year guidance was maintained, with expectations that distributable income per share will range between 50c and 53c - representing growth of between 0% and 6%. Equites Property Fund delivered full-year results in line with market expectations, increasing distributions by 2.1% to 133.92 cents per share. More notably, guidance for 2026 far exceeded consensus forecasts, with anticipated distribution growth between 5% and 7%, driven by strong rental growth and a high-quality logistics portfolio following two years of asset recycling. Equites was the top-performing REIT in May, with its share price rallying 10%. Western Cape focused Spear REIT also benefited from robust results, reporting a 9% share price increase following its full-year results to end-February 2025. The company also announced the acquisition of Berg River Business Park in Paarl for R182.15 million in an all-shares transaction. Management is exploring further acquisitions and developments. Other REITs reporting results in May included Burstone, Delta, Dipula, Emira, and Octodec, with a common theme emerging - property fundamentals in South Africa are improving across all sub-sectors, reinforcing investor confidence. The market capitalisation of the SA REIT sector now surpasses R250 billion - marking the first time since January 2020 that it has reached this level. 'With further interest cuts a possibility, stabilising macroeconomic conditions, and improving company guidance, investor confidence remains strong, and the momentum is likely to carry through the remainder of 2025,' said Anderson.
Channel Post MEA
27-05-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Cognizant Open Sources Its Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator
Cognizant has announced that it has open-sourced its Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator for research and academic use. This open-source software enables domain experts, researchers, and developers to immediately start prototyping and building agent networks across virtually any use case. The open-source software will help accelerate AI adoption by promoting collaboration in building and customizing multi-agent systems for adaptive operations and real-time decision-making. Enterprises can leverage Cognizant's Multi-Agent Services Suite to deploy networks of agents in a commercial setting at scale and to efficiently manage them in production, under a commercial license. The AI Agents Market is anticipated to rapidly grow over the next five years, from a value of USD 5.1 billion in 2024 to a projected worth of USD 47.1 billion by the year 2030. Today's news speeds how enterprises can leverage interconnected agents to explore new revenue streams and drive scalable business value. Developed by Cognizant's AI Lab, the open-sourced software for Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator demonstrates Cognizant's leadership in AI innovation and its commitment to advancing the application of AI Agents. The AI Agents Market is anticipated to rapidly grow over the next five years, from a value of USD 5.1 billion in 2024 to a projected worth of USD 47.1 billion by the year 2030. Today's news speeds how enterprises can leverage interconnected agents to explore new revenue streams and drive scalable business value. Developed by Cognizant's AI Lab, the open-sourced software for Neuro® AI Multi-Agent Accelerator demonstrates Cognizant's leadership in AI innovation and its commitment to advancing the application of AI Agents. Clients like Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company, are working with Cognizant to test and deploy multi-agent systems. 'The open sourcing of the Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator will further empower our teams to rapidly prototype and integrate existing AI agents, and help accelerate our software development lifecycle,' said Telstra's Group Executive for Product and Technology, Kim Krogh Andersen. 'We're already starting to see the potential for gains in quality, velocity and efficiency as a result.' Cognizant has also helped a healthcare company create a Contract Negotiator agent network that speeds up medical appeal processing times, as well as a consumer packaged goods firm for analyzing supply chain management. Cognizant is in the process of more than 65 conversations with clients around agentic AI. Building a successful multi-agent network requires the ability to orchestrate diverse agents, tools, and knowledge sources — including general-purpose large language models (LLMs) and organization-specific systems like service level management (SLMs) or retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) frameworks. Cognizant's Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator aims to enable virtually seamless integration with APIs, RAG, and third-party agents like Salesforce's Agentforce, Google's Agentspace, or Crew AI—via its native Model Context Protocol (MCP) or standard API calls. An optional inter-agent coordination protocol allows these agents to autonomously organize, delegate tasks, and route processes—boosting efficiency and minimizing errors. Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol is also supported, which expands agent collaboration across clouds, platforms, and organizational boundaries. 'To stay competitive in the era of agentic AI, enterprises must be free to experiment—to explore how agents can transform business processes and drive operational efficiencies,' said Babak Hodjat, Chief Technology Officer of AI at Cognizant. 'By open-sourcing Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator, we're expanding access to our cutting-edge multi-agent technology—empowering developers to innovate faster, and enabling decision-makers, regardless of technical background, to rapidly prototype systems and directly observe their impact on key performance indicators. 'Agentforce is built on Salesforce's deeply unified platform that is open and extensible, empowering our ecosystem of partners and builders to innovate with AI that's grounded in trust. Cognizant's decision to open source its Neuro AI Multi-Agent Accelerator exemplifies the kind of partnership that helps our customers move faster and innovate with confidence,' said Gary Lerhaupt, Vice President of Product Architecture, Salesforce. 'Together, we're enabling enterprises to deploy agents that think, collaborate, and deliver value—across every corner of their business.' 0 0
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI-Native VC SignalFire Raises Over $1B to Fuel the Next Wave of Applied AI Startups, Pushing AUM to ~$3B
Investors double down on SignalFire's data-driven model for early-stage investing. SAN FRANCISCO, April 07, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SignalFire, a leading early-stage venture capital firm focused on applied AI, has raised over $1 billion in new capital to fund the next generation of technology startups, bringing its total assets under management (AUM) to approximately $3 billion. This capital raise amid a turbulent fundraising environment is a testament to exceptional investor confidence in SignalFire's AI-native edge, thesis-driven investment strategy, and in-house operational expertise, which give the firm differentiated access to the next generation of high-growth AI companies. The fresh capital will be deployed across SignalFire's Seed, Early, Executive-in-Residence (XIR), and Opportunities funds. "Our investors see what we see — applied AI is the defining opportunity of our time. With this new capital, we're doubling down on the next generation of category-defining AI startups tackling the world's biggest challenges. Backed by our proprietary AI platform and deep operational expertise, we equip founders with the tools, data, and support they need to scale breakthrough companies faster."- Chris Farmer, Founder & CEO, SignalFire A decade of early-stage AI investing in a changing VC landscape SignalFire's longstanding focus on applied AI has fueled the success of companies like Grow Therapy, EvenUp, Stampli, and Grammarly**. At the heart of SignalFire's differentiated approach is Beacon AI — a proprietary machine learning platform powered by talent data spanning more than 650 million individuals and 80 million organizations worldwide — that has been refined in-house for over 12 years. Beacon AI uncovers market trends and talent intelligence that helps SignalFire investors and portfolio companies find and build exceptional teams, products, and businesses. "From customer intros and fundraising advice to hands-on support across data science, hiring, and scaling, SignalFire's impact goes far beyond capital. They've been a true force multiplier for our growth."*- Jake Cooper, CEO & Co-Founder, Grow Therapy As many established VC firms shift toward late-stage investments and diversified strategies, SignalFire remains dedicated to AI founders at the earliest stages (pre-seed through Series B), helping them grow from ideation to industry leadership. In many cases, the firm aims to be the "first check" for applied AI startups — backing founders as early as possible through initiatives like its AI Lab incubation program and Beacon AI, which can identify high-potential founders even before they start companies. Built different: SignalFire's AI-native DNA Unlike traditional VCs that are scrambling to retrofit data and AI into their processes, SignalFire has operated as an applied AI company since its inception, using the same AI techniques, workflows, and infrastructure as many of its portfolio companies. SignalFire's AI-native team helps the firm spot breakthrough startups earlier and accelerates company growth with Beacon AI-powered tools for data science, hiring, customer insights, and go-to-market strategy. "AI's next frontier isn't invention, it's implementation. With these funds, we'll continue to back founders who transform theoretical AI technology into market-changing solutions. With SignalFire's engineering DNA and proprietary data platform, we're uniquely positioned to identify and accelerate companies that aren't just building technology but reshaping industries and outcomes."- Wayne Hu, Partner, SignalFire About SignalFire SignalFire is the first VC firm built like a technology company to better serve the needs of founders as they build and scale their startups. With approximately $3B in assets under management, SignalFire invests in applied AI companies from pre-seed to Series B in key sectors, including healthcare, cybersecurity, infrastructure, consumer, and other enterprise verticals. The firm's Beacon AI platform tracks over 650M employees and 80M organizations, giving the firm an unmatched data advantage in identifying and supporting world-class startups. Its sector-focused investors and a dedicated team of seasoned operators drive SignalFire at startup speed. They provide support across a company's full lifecycle through data and resources tailored by growth stage, plus a diverse ecosystem of partners and customers. Notable investments include Grammarly, Grow Therapy, EvenUp, and Stampli.** Learn more at Disclosures SignalFire is an investment adviser registered with the SEC under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. However, such registration as a registered investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. This presentation does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security; it is neither a prospectus nor an advertisement, and no offering is being made to the public. *Portfolio company founders listed above have not received any compensation for this feedback and may or may not have invested in a SignalFire fund. These founders may or may not serve as Affiliate Advisors, Retained Advisors, or consultants to provide their expertise on a formal or ad hoc basis. They are not employed by SignalFire and do not provide investment advisory services to clients on behalf of SignalFire. **The portfolio companies identified do not represent all of the investments made or recommended for the Funds. It should not be assumed that investments made in the future will be profitable or will equal the performance of the investments in this list. View source version on Contacts Media Contact Caroline KamerschenCaroline@ 770-712-2636
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wharton Launches New AI for Business MBA Major & Undergrad Concentration
Wharton School with downtown Philadelphia in the background. Starting this fall, students at University of Pennsylvania's will be able to declare an MBA major in Artificial Intelligence for Business. That, along with the creation of a new undergraduate concentration in AI, is Wharton's first major curriculum update around AI to date. The new offerings are designed to meet the growing global demand for graduates who not only understand the technical foundations of AI but can also apply those skills to solve business challenges. Students will also learn to navigate AI's ethical, legal, and societal implications. 'It is no longer a question of if, but how artificial intelligence will fundamentally alter every aspect of business and society, and business schools have a crucial role to play in ensuring that AI adoption leads to positive outcomes,' says Erika James, Dean of the Wharton School, in an announcement. 'At Wharton, we are simultaneously focused on harnessing AI's transformative potential while also understanding and addressing its risks.' Wharton Dean Erika James This week's announcement is the latest in Wharton's all-in approach to AI. In June, the B-school launched its aimed at enhancing the school's research and teaching capabilities in artificial intelligence and data science. As part of the initiative, Wharton established two new funds: the AI Research Fund to support faculty exploring AI's intersection with modern business models and global economies. The Education Innovation Fund supports integrating AI into classroom instruction. Last fall, all full-time and executive MBA students received ChatGPT Enterprise licenses, marking the first such collaboration between a business school and OpenAI. The new is one of 21 available to Wharton candidates, and is STEM certified. All Wharton undergrads graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, but students can choose from 19 to further specialize their degree. () The major and concentration will be jointly administered by Wharton's Statistics and Data Science Department as well as its Operations, Information and Decisions. Department. Students will take courses in applied machine learning, data science, neuroscience, data engineering, and statistics. A required ethics course, 'Big Data, Big Responsibilities: Toward Accountable Artificial Intelligence,' will anchor the curriculum. The ethics course is led by , who also directs Wharton's newly launched Accountable AI Lab. The lab is dedicated to advancing responsible AI development and governance. 'We are at a critical turning point where practical AI knowledge is urgently needed,' says Eric Bradlow, Vice Dean of AI & Analytics at Wharton. 'Companies are struggling to recruit talent with the necessary AI skills, students are eager to deepen their understanding of the subject and gain hands-on experience and our faculty's expertise on the adoption and human impact of AI is unmatched.' Professors Prasanna (Sonny) Tambe of the OID department and Giles Hooker of the Statistics and Data Science department will serve as faculty advisors for the new program. DON'T MISS: MBA STUDENT SUES TRUMP OVER HIS DETENTION AND 100 BEST & BRIGHTEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS MAJORS OF 2025 The post Wharton Launches New AI for Business MBA Major & Undergrad Concentration appeared first on Poets&Quants.
