Egypt will form a committee to amend its value-added tax law, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told reporters on Monday, without specifying what the changes may be.
{"preview_thumbnail":"https://cdn.flowplayer.com/6684a05f-6468-4ecd-87d5-a748773282a3/i/v-i-a…","video_id":"ac42da46-10ce-476d-b0d6-9c52511705e0","player_id":"8ca46225-42a2-4245-9c20-7850ae937431","provider":"flowplayer","video":"Top 10 Safest Countries in 2019"}
The VAT law is part of a reform program that formed the basis of a $12 billion, three-year loan agreed with the International Monetary Fund in 2016.
It replaced a sales tax and broadened the tax base in a country where the government struggles to collect income tax because of a large informal economy and widespread avoidance.
Maait said the government collected 660 billion Egyptian pounds ($39.83 billion) in taxes in the 2018-2019 financial year, up 16.6% from the previous year at 566 billion Egyptian pounds, reported Reuters.
Of total tax revenue collected in the 2018-2019 financial year, 309 billion Egyptian pounds came from VAT, the minister said.
The VAT, currently at 14%, is a composite tax levied on the difference between the cost price and the sale price of domestic and imported goods. ($1 = 16.5725 Egyptian pounds)
