No increase in income taxes: Finance Ministry asserts

CAIRO - 14 September 2018: The Ministry of Finance denied the rumors concerning raising tax value on the citizens’ incomes, saying that no increase in the income tax or any other taxes will take place in the next period, Osama Tawakol, minister of finance adviser for taxation, said Friday.

The ministry's policy aims to maintain the stability of fiscal policies. It can not increase the tax rate because investors conduct their projects' feasibility studies based on the ministry's declared tax rates, Tawakol added, noting that the ministry has reduced the tax from 25 percent to 22.5 percent.

The ministry affirmed that the amendments carried out recently in the income tax law aimed to ease the tax burden on citizens.

Concerning recent amendments, the ministry earlier decided to totally exempt employees with annual salaries of up to LE 8,000 ($448) instead of 7,200 ($403) from taxes, starting from July 2017.

According to the new amendments, people with salaries ranging from LE 8,000 to LE 30,000 ($1,679), pay an income tax on 15 percent of their salaries only, while those with salaries ranging from 30,000 to 45,000 ($2,519) pays tax on 55 percent of their salaries.

Moreover, the highest burden of income tax is on the shoulders of those with annual salaries ranging from LE 45,000 to LE 200,000, as they pay taxes on 92.5 percent of their salaries.