Egypt Receives LE2 Billion Deferred Taxes in March

Egypt has collected around LE2 billion ($333 million) in deferred taxes, the country's Tax Authority said. Deffered taxes from both the private and public sectors accumulated for years under ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s last finance minister, Youssef Boutros-Ghali. Estimates put the total of owed taxes at around LE60 billion.

Under a law introduced earlier this year, those owing such taxes get a 25 per cent reduction on the amount due if they paid before 31 March 2012. Submitting between 1 April and 30 June entitles payers to a 15 per cent deduction, while paying between 1 July and 31 December brings a 10 per cent cut. Authority head Ahmed Refaat said they expect to receive increased revenues in the next few months as taxpayers work quickly to take benefits of the new law.

Egyptian taxpayers are now able to file their returns at the country's major banks rather than queue at government offices using an electronic payment process introduced this year. Using the new system, Egyptians can pay taxes at any branch of the 24 banks that have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Finance. The service is provided by e-finance; a private firm contracted by the ministry, and will handle any tax payments in excess of LE1, 000. Payments can be made via bank account transfer or with hard cash. Electronic tax collection is meant to streamline tax collection and increase revenues.

Tax revenue target for the 2011/2012 fiscal year is LE232 billion (around $38 billion). Corporate taxes are expected to reach LE83.292 billion, two-thirds of which will be paid by the state-owned Suez Canal Authority and petroleum firms. Target revenues for the 2010/11 fiscal year were LE200 billion, but only LE192 billion was eventually collected.