Black Tax is Culture By Obed Masilela

A book looking at the history and definition of what Black tax is and its origins and the conflicts it causes A family member who refuses to pay so called black tax is threatened with punishment from God and/or their ancestors. A government that doesn’t promise continuity of grant payments is with loss of votes. Both scenarios point to the same direction. In Black Tax Is Culture, author Obed Masilela describes the concept black tax, from its birth to its colloquial nature and its application in modern society. What is black tax? Why is it called ‘black tax’? When was the term coined? And is it a cultural or government obligation to those who practise it? Interviews with various individuals from di5erent social settings, and representing the three types of family formations, attempt to answer these questions.
The ‘traditional family’ is divided into two modern types: the autonomous ‘independent realist’ family; and the artificial split-independent family. The black tax complainant springs from the middle-class group, forcing the traditional family to alter its character and role to a ‘superficial split dependent family’. We continue to witness the loss of togetherness and sharing of economic activities. In this book, Masilela explains how culture influenced the economy in the transition from traditional to modern, and detailing the conflict and confusion created when the two are practised simultaneously.