Several members of parliament from the 25-30 Alliance will allegedly be referred to the Disciplinary Committee, after they held a press conference rejecting the value-added tax (VAT) law that has been approved during Sunday’s session.
The coalition also refrained from voting on the bill after parliamentary speaker Ali Abdul Aal refused the electronic voting system and insisted that the voting process be conducted by a show of hands.
MP Haitham Al-Hariri told Daily News Egypt that the members of the coalition have not been formally informed about the referral decision, but that a vote was conducted on Sunday and MPs did not mind their referral to the Disciplinary Committee. He added that the reason for referral was not formally announced either.
Al-Hariri said: “The VAT will impose more financial struggles on citizens, and this is not the right time for such a decision to be taken. The rate of inflation will see a significant incline.”
MP Khaled Youssef said that the coalition members welcomed the referral decision, adding that the 25-30 Alliance aims to turn the principles of the 25 January Revolution and 30 June uprising into reality.
Conversely, Abdul Aal said that the actions of the coalition are not acceptable. He also added that the 25-30 Alliance is not official, and that the only admitted coalition in the parliament is the Coalition in Support of Egypt.
The 25-30 leftist bloc held a press conference earlier last week, in which it said that Egypt’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), along with the VAT, will spark anger among citizens and may lead to protests.
The parliament approved the VAT bill on Sunday, with a rate of 13% in fiscal year 2016/2017. This rate is expected to rise to 14% in fiscal year 2017/2018.
