Egypt revealed new tax incentives included in the micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) development law, according to Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait. The new law includes a simplified tax system for MSMEs which will help the owners assess the due taxes on their own and file their tax returns on an annual basis without submitting any documents or invoices, Maait said. Sales less than 250,000 Egyptian pounds per year will be taxed 1,000 pounds, while sales less than 500,000 pounds will be taxed 2,500 pounds and sales less than 1 million pounds will be taxed 5,000 pounds. A tax rate of 0.5 percent will be levied on sales between 1 million pounds and 2 million pounds, 0.75 percent on sales between 2-3 million pounds, and 1 percent on sales between 3-10 million pounds The law also includes exemption from stamp taxes and fees of registering companies' deeds of association, land deeds, and credit facility agreements. Moreover, custom duties on machinery and equipment are slashed to 2 percent from 5 percent.
