I'm sure rekstout is right - the average wage in SA is below �30 per week, on which you certainly would not pay tax in the UK, and of course most of the people at the bottom of the SA heap are black. But doubtless a well-paid black accountant or lawyer will be paying as much income tax as his white counterpart. Also, it appears that until fairly recently SA tax was not levied on income from non-SA sources, and there was no Capital Gains Tax; these gaps in the tax system have now been remedied, and some rich, white folk may be feeling badly done to.