Cairo – Mubasher: It is expected that the Egyptian government will begin implementing the stamp duty tax on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) starting early June, deputy finance minister for fiscal policies Amr El Mounir told Reuters on Tuesday.
We expect to begin collecting the stamp duty tax in the first week of June and Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR) will be responsible for collecting the tax and delivering it to the tax authority, the top official stated.
On Monday, Egypt’s cabinet approved a decision to extend freezing the capital gains tax and to begin implementing the stamp duty tax on bourse trades.
The tax is expected to bring in around EGP 1.572 billion in the first year of implementation in the fiscal year 2017/2018, according to a government statement on the general budget.
The decision is still pending approval by the Egyptian parliament.
In May 2013, Egypt imposed the stamp duty tax on buying and selling transactions in its stock market, logging EGP 350 million in collections at the time. The tax was suspended in July 2014 and replaced with a 10% tax on cash dividends and capital distributions.
The duty has been set at EGP 1.25 for every EGP 1,000 for the first year of the tax's introduction, rising to EGP 1.5 in the second year and EGP 1.75 in the third.
