El Sisi signs tax changes into law

Tax changes are now the law of the land: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has signed into law the raft of tax changes recently passed by MPs aimed at raising state revenues and reducing the tax burden on low earners, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.

ICYMI- The changes include a new higher rate of income tax, a higher personal income tax exemption threshold, several new development fees (including the ‘entertainment tax’) and a few tweaks to the incoming capital gains tax on EGX transactions. We have the full breakdown of the measures here and here.

YESTERDAY IN THE HOUSE-

MPs gave their final approval to several bills and decisions yesterday:

• A USD 500 mn loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Developmentto expand the Takaful and Karama subsidy program;
• A USD 310 mn loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for our universal healthcare scheme;
• Four bills licensing the Oil Ministry to contract foreign firm Trident Petroleum to explore for oil in the Gulf of Suez in partnership with state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC);
• Three presidential decrees approving Egypt joining the International Atomic Energy Agency’s convention on nuclear energy safety; ratifying custom reductions under the African Continental Freetrade Area (AfCFTA); and hosting the headquarters of the African Space Agency in Egypt.

The House is now on its Eid break and will reconvene on Sunday, 9 July.