Egypt is on track to record a 2% primary budget surplus in FY2018-19, says Maait

Egypt is on track to record a 2% primary budget surplus in FY2018-19 as state revenues rose more than 35% y-o-y during the first quarter of the fiscal year, outpacing nearly 29% growth in state expenditures in the same period, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement (pdf). Tax collection rose nearly 40% in 1Q18-19, with the largest increases coming from VAT and wage taxes. Egypt’s budget deficit narrowed slightly to 1.9% during the quarter, down from 2% during the same period in the last fiscal year, which Maait said last week indicates that Egypt is on track to meet its budget deficit target of 8.4% for FY2018-19. Reuters also has the story.