Egyptian finance minister lauds amendments to tax law

Finance Minister Hany Qadry has defended recent amendments made to the tax law, stressing they are meant to relax measures for citizens and support economic growth.

In its new shape, the tax law is hoped to attract investments in new projects, Qadry said Tuesday.

A five-percent additional tax on citizens whose annual income exceeds one million pounds has been canceled, the minister said.

The amendments also prevent double taxation, especially where the distribution of profits of foreign companies operating in Egypt is concerned, Qadry added.

The amended law has expanded the segment of people exempted from the income tax by 30 percent, the minister further said, noting that this would in turn contribute to increasing the net value of salaries of civil servants, as well as workers at the business and private sectors, by 150 pounds annually.

He expected the state coffers' share of income taxes to decrease by 2.5 billion pounds every year.