Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
Business
Asharq Al-Awsat

Egypt to Form Panel to Amend Value-Added Tax Law

Products are displayed at a vegetable market in Cairo on May 13, 2018. (Reuters)

Egypt will form a committee to amend its value-added tax law, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told reporters on Monday, without specifying what the changes may be.

The VAT law is part of a reform program that formed the basis of a $12 billion, three-year loan agreed with the International Monetary Fund in 2016.

It replaced a sales tax and broadened the tax base in a country where the government struggles to collect income tax because of a large informal economy and widespread avoidance.

Maait said the government collected 660 billion Egyptian pounds ($39.83 billion) in taxes in the 2018-2019 financial year, up 16.6% from the previous year at 566 billion Egyptian pounds, reported Reuters.

Of total tax revenue collected in the 2018-2019 financial year, 309 billion Egyptian pounds came from VAT, the minister said.

The VAT, currently at 14%, is a composite tax levied on the difference between the cost price and the sale price of domestic and imported goods. ($1 = 16.5725 Egyptian pounds)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.