Stephen Meintjes was born and brought up in South Africa. He studied law at Stellenbosch and Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has spent most of his career in investment research and management and is currently Head of Research for Imara S. P. Reid. He has studied Economics with the School of Economic Science since the 1960s and has also been involved in politics for more than 25 years. He has co-authored two economic theory books with the late Michael Jacques.
They initially presented their thesis of land value taxation in 1990, shortly after the release of Nelson Mandela as The Trial of Chaka Dlamini – an Economic Scenario for the New South Africa. They believed this could be the way for South Africa to boost its economy after Apartheid and presented it to ANC (African National Congress) and other parties. It was a time of change and many issues were on the agenda so they were unsuccessful in establishing this form of taxation. Undeterred, however, they revisited this more recently and have put forward the thesis again in this new book.
Our Land, Our Rent, Our Jobs proposes replacing most taxes with land value rentals. It will be presented to the political parties in South Africa as an opportunity for real change.
