Stamp duty slashed THE FINANCIAL and Economic Committee of the Shura Council last week approved a proposal to modify some articles of the stamp duty law issued in 1980. The reform aims at simplifying procedures, as well as reducing by half the stamp duty tax rate which is imposed on some products and services. A rate of 15 per cent instead of 36 per cent will be imposed on advertisements which are published on television, in cinemas and in the printed press. Advertisements that are broadcast on the radio will be charged 15 per cent instead of 24 per cent. A new 15 per cent stamp duty tax will be imposed on billboard ads. A one per cent tax instead of 3 per cent will also be imposed on life insurance premiums, while insurance policies on maritime, land and air transportation will be reduced to 10 per cent, instead of the current 15 per cent. A 0.001 instead of 0.01 tax will be imposed on credit accounts and loans, as a means of encouraging the private sector. It has also been agreed that disputes with the Tax Authority that do not exceed LE5,000 will be automatically dismissed so as to reduce collection costs. A study is being conducted by the Ministry of Finance in order to underline the current as well as expected revenues which will be accrued from the stamp duty tax, as a result of the latest amendments to the law. EUMEDIS ends THE FINAL international conference of the Euro- Mediterranean Information Society (EUMEDIS) was held this week at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria. Entitled "Closing the Digital Gap in the Mediterranean region", the conference was inaugurated by Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tareq Kamel, and Klaus Ebermann, ambassador of the Delegation of the European Commission in Egypt. The achievements of 22 projects carried out under the programme, at an EU funding of 65 million euros, were presented to the conference. More than 300 participants from 24 countries around the Mediterranean came together to discuss, in four workshops, the improvement of intercultural dialogue for the benefit of populations. They also discussed the new aspects of intellectual property rights. EUMEDIS which was launched in 2000 is the largest initiative funded by the EU for the development of advanced information and communications technology in the Middle East. The programme has been active in healthcare networks, electronic commerce, tourism and cultural heritage and industry. It also covers small and medium enterprises and education. Energy efficient THE DEADLINE is approaching for all those interested in competing for pilot projects on energy efficiency, in the construction sector. The competition which was launched last April accepts applications till the end of the current month of June. It aims at encouraging pilot projects from the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries. This is one of the first activities of the EU-funded "MED-ENEC" project which aims at realizing energy efficiency in the construction sector. It is addressed to the MEDA countries of Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. In August, an evaluation committee will select up to ten pilot projects for support. The competition documents which contain information on the competition's general conditions as well as its application procedures are now available at www.med-enec.com.www.med-enec.com./p Up to 10 pilot projects will be selected in the competition. These will be supported with the aim of initiating replication on a wider scale, in the building sector of MEDA countries. The awarded initiatives will be offered a contract for technical and financial assistance which will enable them to implement the pilot projects within a two-year span. The contract can cover costs up to a ceiling of approximately 100,000 euro. The pilot projects will also be supported during the planning and construction phase, with technical assistance in the form of workshops and training courses. Expert advice will also be delivered during entire implementation process. The energy savings will be monitored, documented and published. The EU-funded MED-ENEC is a three-year project that was launched in January 2006. In order to reduce both energy supply requirements as well as the ever- growing impact on the environment of air- conditioning installations, the project aims to boost to energy efficiency measures in addition to the use of solar energy in the construction sector. It also focuses on business development and capacity building, in addition to awareness raising campaigns and the pilot competition. The project is operated by a Consortium of four partners which are led by the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ/ International Services).
