Your TFSA was created to benefit the government

Your TFSA was created to benefit the government. South African government didn't create the tax-free savings account to help you. They created it to help themselves. Before 2015, tax-free growth only existed in one place, your retirement funds. You locked your money away until you retire, otherwise SARS would cut. The Treasury looked at the numbers and didn't like what they saw. South Africans save almost nothing. Debt is high and when something goes wrong, like a job loss or an emergency, most people have no backup. More debt. In 2015, the government launched the TFSA, not out of generosity, but self-interest. Every South African with their own safety net is one less person leaning on the state. That's the trade. SARS gives up future tax revenue that a nation that saves more and needs less help from them. It's one of the only places in the tax code where what's good for you and what's good for the government point in the same direction. Which is why, if you're not using it, you're leaving a rare kind of gift on the table. Don't miss Part 5 where we look at why tax-free growth is unbeatable.