The Deputy Minister of Finance for Tax Policies, Amr El-Monayer, said that the stamp tax, which is to be applied to the stock market, has been finalised by the ministry, adding that it will hopefully be submitted to the cabinet this week.
He told Daily News Egypt that the proposal is not the final draft of the new tax, explaining that it may be modified according to the parliament’s reservations or views, as it is the authorised institution to approve it.
Moreover, the Minister of Finance Amr El-Garhy said that the stamp tax on stocks may start at 0.125% for both buyers and sellers, increasing to 0.15%, and 0.175% in the second and third year respectively.
El-Monayer added that the expected income from the tax is approximately EGP 1bn, according to the current amount of bond transactions. He believes that the value of the tax would not affect the stock market’s trading, because the targeted rate of the tax is very modest.
He also added that trading in the stock market will probably increase in the next period, which would raise the income from taxes. The Egyptian stock market’s Benchmark Index EGX 30 increased by 1.45% on Sunday.
The stamp tax is a new source for income, which the Ministry of Finance wanted to implement after applying the value added tax (VAT) in September 2016.
