New law to legalize informal economy: ministry

CAIRO – 1 August 2017: The government is working to draft a law to organize work on the informal economy, Minister of Industry Tarek Kabil said Tuesday.

The law does not only aim to collect more taxes, but it targets developing the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Kabil explained.

The informal economy is estimated to be 60 percent of the gross economy, including all industrial and trade activities that do not fall under the taxation system.

Egypt Vision 2030 eyes merging the informal economic sector with the formal one, through introducing new laws that encourage SMEs to enter the formal economy.

The Tax Authority is also working on streamlining the informal economy into the taxing system, primarily to collect outstanding taxes worth LE 70 billion ($3.9 billion).