Amr Badawy, executive director of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, said the projected tax proceeds from the sales of cell phone lines are estimated at a total of LE750 million. These new taxes are among a new set of procedures that the Egyptian government is discussing in a public dialogue, which aims to sway public opinion in their favor. In a phone conversation with Anadolu news agency, Badawy said on Monday that he projects that 30 million mobile phone lines will be sold in the first year of the implementation of the tax, particularly since Telecom Egypt, Egypt's sole telephone landline provider, has obtained a license to provide full mobile phone services. He added that aside from taxes on the new lines, 3 percent of profits made by mobile companies will be deducted in taxes. If the new taxes are enforced, the total taxes on communications companies would rise from 15 to 18 percent. Communications companies in Egypt made LE 30 billion, or US$5 billion, in revenues in 2011, according to the exchange rates at the time. Egypt's three mobile phone operators, Mobinil, Vodafone and Etisalat, earlier this week raised the prices of mobile phone lines from less than LE10 to LE18.
