Mubarak addresses economists on new income tax law
Egypt, Economics, 6/9/2005

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said the new income tax law will help cut taxes by half and ease the tax burden on citizens; thus ensuring a bigger income for families and guaranteeing better living conditions.

Addressing a group of 180 economists on Wednesday, Mubarak said the law was signed following categorical modifications to customs tariffs based on a philosophy of trust between the state and the citizen and the need to enhance the open economy policies.

President Mubarak also pointed out that reforms in customs and taxes are the first step towards more public action, adding the modifications introduced in the income tax will be followed by similar accomplishments in the sales tax in a way that makes it an easy tool that serves and does not hamper economic activities.

Real estate taxes should also be developed with a new intellect and philosophy that goes in line with development and reconstruction and makes everyone participate in the progress and welfare of the society, the president added.

President Mubarak stressed that the near future will witness a categorical development in dealing with issues pertaining to innovating industry and technology through policies that mainly aim at realizing an increase in production parallel to a raise in income.

This entails a radical development of the banking and financing body in Egypt, he added.

Mubarak maintained that as much as LE 50 billion will be pumped into the capital of Egyptian banks in a bid to bolster the banks' ability to extend loans and operate efficiently.

The President noted that some banks would be merged into other bigger banks in a way that could accelerate the pace of updating the Egyptian banking system and help extend better services to investors and depositors alike.

Also, said the President, the performance of the Central Bank of Egypt will be upgraded in an attempt to enhance its ability to play its role as the monitoring tool that steers the wheel of the banking system in Egypt.

President Mubarak also added that the government would support the private sector's activities to help generate more investments that would in turn help promote the Egyptian banking system performance.

The government's plan is aimed at doubling, over the coming five years, the market value of companies operating in the stock exchange domain through increasing their investments and enlarging their activities, added the President.

These policies will seek to increase the ratio of Egypt's exports value to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to around 40 per cent from the current 20 per cent, said the president.

President Mubarak said the government's policies are also aimed at tapping outside markets to enable Egyptian exports to gain a foothold in these markets through upgrading the quality of Egyptian products.

Egypt's development plan also targets better service commodities such as transit services, said the President, underlining the importance of increasing Egyptian exports as the major and most important plank of national economy.

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