Tareq Farrag, Chairman of the Property Taxation Department, stated that the department has signed a protocol of cooperation with Netherlands and Lithuania, to benefit from their expertise and experience in real estate assessment, in addition to developing a general model that conforms to the Egyptian community. He added that the Department and the business community has conducted joint workshops at the Federations of Egyptian Industries and Chambers of commerce to discuss the new taxation law and the people's feedback, in addition to suggesting mechanisms that would facilitate enforcing the law without public disapproval. He pointed out that the Department is still opening the door for recommending any amendments to the law. Farrag stressed on the necessity of imposing this new law, expecting that it will come into force starting from January 2013, which would increase the tax proceeds up to EGP 2 billion. The amendments to the new law includes the exemption of private houses and the apartments which rent is less than EGP 1200, in addition to tackling the loopholes in the old law, given that 60% of the existing real estate are not taxable, he said. He further stated that the Department is about to finalize the real estate law no 186 of 2008, making it more fair, adding that 25% of the revenues will be used in financing local services and another 25% will go for developing slums. The Department has also completed setting the mechanism required for the collection.
