South African High Earners’ Exodus May Limit Room for Tax Hikes

South Africa’s loss of skilled and high earners could limit room to raise income taxes as the Treasury seeks to plug a budget shortfall that’s above wartime levels.

A fourth-quarter estate agent survey by FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank shows a more than fifth of all houses valued at 2.6 million rand ($176,939) or more that were put on the market by the end of last year was because people planned to move abroad.

This could further erode the tax base in a country where fewer than 14 million individuals in a working-age population of 39 million are registered ...