‘Black Tax’ stems from responsibility to larger family

FAMILIAL financial support — often referred to as “Black Tax” - is common among black South Africans. It teaches and expects income earners to contribute to the general good of the extended family.

- STAFF REPORTER

In seeking to understand this phenomenon better, a University of Cape Town PhD student found that black South African culture doesn’t really subscribe to the Western idea of a “nuclear family” made up only of parents and their children. Instead, family networks are much broader and inclusive, with many people regarded as mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.

“From childhood, individuals are raised with a deep sense of responsibility to contribute to the success of this larger family network. This cultural value system makes financial support not just common but expected,” Malilimalo Phaswana contends in his thesis, “Black Tax - Stories of family financial socialisation in the context of familial financial support”.