It was quieter than usual on the airwaves last night with Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi taking the night off. The rest of the nation’s talking heads brought us coverage of the proposed tax increases which were approved by the House Planning and Budget Committee last week and will go through to the General Assembly today.

Maait defends tax hikes: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait joined El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 36:08) on Friday to back up the package of proposed tax hikes that proved controversial (“The reaction hasn’t been very positive,” Adib told the minister). “In order not to increase our debt levels we have to increase the country’s resources without affecting basic commodities,” Maait said, adding that these taxes won’t affect the everyday lives of the average citizen. House Budget Committee chairman Fakhry El Feky joined Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 13:32) to walk people through the new batch of proposed tax hikes.

Moussa calls on MPs to reconsider: Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Mousa (watch, runtime: 3:07 | 4:34) called on the House to reconsider the move and find other revenue streams ahead of its discussion today. “This move is very dangerous. Enough with the price increases. Enough additional pressure on citizens,” Moussa said. Inflation and price hikes have affected everyone in the country, the poor and the rich, he added.

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