Business Unity SA (Busa), with the support of Business Leadership SA (BLSA), recently launched a research report authored by consulting firm Intellidex, that focused on the funding options for a basic income grant (BIG) in SA (“VAT hike to 17% is ‘the least bad option’ to fund BIG, research shows”, July 25). The report is a more thorough analysis of funding options for a BIG than the hatchet job published by Intellidex in 2021.

However, like the original report it spends some time critiquing work by the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ). This is part of what motivates this response. But more importantly, the IEJ is concerned that …