From SA Commercial Property News.

A proposed carbon tax will burden South Africa’s commercial property industry and deter local and foreign investment, the South African Property Owners Association president said.

Property analysts and CEOs say electricity, rates and tax increases well in excess of inflation are the industry’s biggest challenges, according to a report in SA Commercial Property News.

The carbon tax liabilities commercial property owners face will be seen largely in the electricity bill and those will likely be passed on to tenants, said Robbie Louw, a director at carbon advisory firm Promethium Carbon.

In the case of property developers, Louw said the carbon tax would put pressure on building materials, especially cement, according to the report.

The carbon tax is set to go into effect in 2015.

Read more at SA Commercial Property News.