Government denies hikes in cigarette taxes

CAIRO - 5 October 2017: The Ministry of Finance denied imposing additional taxes on cigarettes in the meantime, a report from the cabinet-affiliated Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) said Thursday.

The IDSC added that the Tax Authority is not conducting any studies in that regard, keeping the current tax rate stable.

Additionally, the report denied any hikes in fuel and gasoline prices in the current fiscal year.

At the beginning of the current fiscal year, the government raised fuel prices, where 80-octane gasoline soared from LE 1.60 ($0.08) to LE 3.65 per liter, while the 92-octane increased from LE 3.50 to LE 5.00 per liter.

The move came in line with Egypt’s economic reform program, launched in July 2014, to slash spending on fuel and electricity subsidies in an attempt to curb an increasing budget deficit.

The application comes gradually as the government announces new prices each fiscal year.