Egypt discusses social media ads’ tax with Facebook

CAIRO – 20 August 2019: Ministry of Finance is about to finalize a new draft law on income tax, including the application of tax on social media ads and digital platforms, Minister of Finance Mohamed Ma’it stated.

Ma’it clarified in a statement that a specialized team from the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Authority is working on the draft law in coordination and cooperation with Facebook to benefit from their international experience in the field of tax applications on social media sites for advertising and services provided via the internet.

According to the statement, the ministry is scheduled to coordinate with the relevant stakeholders, including Facebook, as soon as the initial drafting to receive their proposals are approved, pointing out that the draft law will be presented to civil society to receive their suggestions and opinions on the law in light of the ministry's belief in community participation.

This came during a meeting held between Ma’it and representatives of Facebook in response to the ministry's call to review the best tax applications associated with the services provided via the internet, and the mechanisms of implementing them in Egypt in a consensual manner because Facebook has successful experiences with other countries in this field.

Ma’it pointed out that the aim of preparing such legislation is to keep pace with global economic changes and digital transformation, which has become the dominant feature, to ensure continued growth and consistency with international standards. This is in addition to integrating the digital and parallel economy in the formal economy in a way that does not contradict with encouraging entrepreneurs to ensure fair competitiveness in the market. “This will reflect positively on the national economy as a whole.”

On the other hand, Facebook representatives welcomed the open dialogue with Egypt in light of the recent economic reforms, explaining that they are keen to reach the best practical solutions acceptable to all parties concerned and that they will cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in providing their international expertise for the benefit of the Egyptian economy.