Truck drivers across Egypt will resume their strike for the fifth consecutive day to voice opposition over legislation that, they claim, is poised to increase taxes on trucks and fines for excess cargo. A Monday meeting in Tanta, Gharbiya, convened 300 drivers with government representatives but failed to solve the dispute. The truckers vowed to escalate the matter until the new measures are officially abandoned. The regulations, proposed by the Ministry of Finance a month ago, increase the annual tax paid by heavy-duty truckers from LE1120 to LE4200 annually, according to the truckers. They allege the regulations will also reduce the four-year grace period for phasing out trailers to two years, and ban truck drivers from using highways on Thursdays and Fridays. The government was represented at the meeting by delegates from the ministries of industry and transport, as well as the Egyptian Tax Authority. The drivers where represented by their spokesperson, Mustafa al-Nuweihi. The truckers unanimously rebuffed the government's offer to form a panel of ten truck owners to discuss their problems in return for calling off the protests and abiding by the new taxation rules. The government also said it would review the situation over the next five years to consider whether any articles of the regulation merit cancellation. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
