About the Centre

The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) is the first research institute of its kind in the global South. It draws on the intellectual resources of Wits University, and partner institutions in South Africa and beyond, to host a truly interdisciplinary research and policy project focusing on understanding and addressing inequality in the global South. Although there are a number of centres for the study of inequality worldwide, they are almost exclusively in the global north, and in the United Kingdom, and United States in particular. We believe that there are distinct drivers and characteristics of inequality in the South.

The Southern Centre for Inequality Studies is a truly inter-disciplinary and intersectional research and policy institute located in the global south. Interdisciplinarity has been built into the Centre from the beginning, with thematic and policy focus areas that transcend traditional academic boundaries. This SCIS will ensure that the project objectives and the work undertaken by the various research initiatives and activities will result in a substantive outcome: an evidence based progressive policy programme to overcome inequality in South Africa, and advance our understanding of inequality in the global South.

A Wealth Tax for South Africa

This Working Paper presents some contemporary reflections on inequality, penned by economic historian Professor Sampie Terreblanche. These are followed by a reproduction, in full, of his testimony to the TRC in November 1997, which called for the levying of a wealth tax on all affluent South Africans. It was exactly twenty years ago that Professor Terreblanche presented his testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Two decades later, it remains extremely relevant. 

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The SCIS is a recognised research group based in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at Wits University. Click here to join our mailing list.