Unofficial economy represents 40%: Minister

CAIRO – 8 March 2018: Egypt’s unofficial economy represents about 40 percent of economy volume, Minister of Finance Amr el-Garhy said at the Conference of boosting the mobilization of Egypt’s domestic resources.

Garhy clarified that this percentage is not accurate, affirming that the volume of unofficial economy is immense in comparison to other countries.

The minister pointed out that he does not know the volume of liquefied funds in the Egyptian market, stressing the importance of working on boosting the financial inclusion file.

He added that taxes incentives are not the main reason attracting investors, referring that the new investment law also provides investors with several incentives; in addition to the diversity of the Egyptian economy which can attract more investments through simplifying the procedures.

The minister stated Monday that taxes represent 72 percent of the estimated budget of fiscal year 2017/2018.

"We seek to simplify the tax system, implement a policy to protect taxes and promote growth,” the minister added.

He clarified that the reform agenda included the value-added taxes (VAT) and the increase of taxes on alcohol.

He noted that the development process also requires improvement of policies and developing individuals' skills, revealing that the rules of pricing modifications will be issued in 2018.

The minister also stated that Egypt aims at reducing the budget deficit to 8.5 - 8.7 percent in the upcoming budget of fiscal year 2018/2019.

He added during his speech that the budget deficit is estimated to record 9.6 - 9.8 percent during the current fiscal year.