The so-called sin taxes are starting to have an effect on the cost of living – with alcoholic beverages and tobacco increasing in price by 4.3% year-on-year, Statistics South Africa’s latest inflation print for May showed.
Image: Freepik
The so-called sin taxes are starting to have an effect on the cost of living – with alcoholic beverages and tobacco increasing in price by 4.3% year-on-year, Statistics South Africa’s latest inflation print for May showed.
Overall, inflation remained flat year-on-year at 2.8% when compared to April’s figure. A year ago, it was 5.2%, meaning that the increase in prices at the till have slowed.
The main contributors to inflation for the year-on-year rate were housing and utilities, which went up 4.5%, food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.8%), and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (4.3%).
Year-on-year, spirits and liqueurs became 4.2 percentage points more costly, while wine was up five percentage points, and the price of beer seemed to be the best alternative, as it gained 3.9 percentage points.
Tobacco, meanwhile, was 4.5 percentage points more expensive than a year ago.
In the May 2025 National Budget, National Treasury announced that the so-called “sin taxes” meant that alcoholic beverages became 6.75% more expensive, with tobacco going up by between 4.75% and 6.75% from March 12.
The April print showed that this increase had a minimal impact on the consumer price index, with alcohol and tobacco only going up 0.3 percentage points.
Coffee and hot chocolate substantially more expensive than a year ago: hot beverages were 12.4 percentage points more costly. Electricity, gas, and other fuels provided no mercy for South Africans, going up 11.7 percentage points.