VAT applied on dial-up internet services as of Thursday

CAIRO – 7 September 2017: The Egyptian government started Thursday applying a 14 percent value-added tax (VAT) on the prices of dial-up internet services.

In August, a report by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology revealed that internet users in Egypt increased by seven million in one year, reaching 33.19 million in April 2017.

High-speed Internet “ADSL” subscribers increased to 4.57 million subscribers in April 2017, compared to 4.05 million in April 2016. Cell phone data users reached 33.22 percent in April 2017, up from 27.37 percent in the same month last year.

In July, the Ministry of Finance started applying the VAT on the prices of internet ADSL services, at 14 percent.

Sources inside the ministry said that the hikes come as part of the government's enforcement of the VAT law, according to which the VAT replaced the 10 percent sales tax. The enforcement of VAT is part of the government’s broader economic reform program started in 2014.