Constitutional Court law expert Pierre de Vos came out in support on Monday of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's call for a once-off wealth tax imposed on those who benefited from apartheid.

"Not only is a wealth tax on white South Africans who earn a minimum amount of money constitutionally valid," De Vos wrote on his blog, Constitutionally Speaking. "It is also an important and welcome idea that must be supported by all right-thinking South Africans with even a smidgen of a conscience or common sense."

The tax would be a small gesture towards reconciliation and redress, he said.

"If I had been born black and poor, I almost certainly would not have gone to University and I would almost certainly never have been a Law Professor at UCT [University of Cape Town], earning quite a nice salary, thank you."

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