The government referred the new real estate tax law to the State Council in order for them to rule over a certain paradoxical clause in it. The second article of the law states that this tax should precede all other real estate tax exemptions, which contradicts article 11 of the law for new urban communities that exempts real estate owners from any real estate tax for ten years, so as to encourage building housing units in these areas. Sources at the finance ministry said that many of those real estate owners are powerful members of the ruling party, and that they are pressuring Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali to stay away from them. According to a previous ruling by the Supreme Constitutional Court, the government is not obliged to consult the State Council before devising new laws, which is why the ministry now finds itself in this predicament. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
