Parliament agreed to amend Article 429 of the bylaws that exempts amounts paid to parliament members from taxes and fees, according to parliamentary sources.
This move comes after the State Council said the article is unconstitutional.
The sources added that many members believe that including this article in the internal regulations had a legal defect, in addition to contradicting with the concept of equality noted in the 2014 Constitution.
Parliament members receive a monthly salary of EGP 5,000. They are not allowed to obtain more than fourfold this amount monthly under any condition, such as overtime.
During an interview, the State Council said the legal drafting of Article 429 is unconstitutional and contradicts with law.
It also recommended amending Article 901, which stipulates the exemption of salaries in kind (the remuneration of goods or services) of a value of no more than EGP 300, which members should be allowed to keep rather than turning them over to the state’s public treasury.
The sources said parliament is studying the State Council’s concerns over the Central Auditing Organisation (CAO) auditing the parliament’s budget as a whole rather than auditing an itemised budget, which it considers unconstitutional.
Commenting on parliament’s bylaws, the CAO said the 2014 Constitution did not include the parliament among the bodies of whose expenses would be studied as a whole, such as the presidency.
Some parliament members argue that the CAO’s supervision is an intervention into the legislature’s work, according to MP Amr El-Gohary.
El-Gohary believes that approving parliament as the supervisor of its own expenses and making salaries of parliament members subject to taxes grants it more transparency in front of the public.
