The Minister of Finance's real estate tax advisor Tarek Farag told Daily News Egypt that the Real Estate Taxation Authority (RTA) collected only EGP 61m out of a potential EGP 3.5bn in the current fiscal year. Farag said that the new real estate law, implemented earlier this year, should help collect the full amount by the end of the current fiscal year, which began on the 1 July. In the current national budget for the fiscal year 2014/2015 the Ministry of Finance allocated 25% of real estate revenues to develop informal areas. Farag revealed that the 25% allocated to support the development of slums is additional support to help the Ministry of Urban Development to develop services in informal areas. "This allocation is not mandatory for the Ministry of Finance," said Farag. Farag added that the real estate law was applied less than a month ago and the RTA needs enough time to collect the rest of the tax. Farag said that court cases – including complaints of property owners and claims from the RTA – can be lengthy. Farag predicted that the amount of real estate tax toll collected will be increased, particularly from residential units in Cairo governorate, and then support will be ready to help the Informal Settlements Development Facility (ISDF) in the development and implementation of informal areas. Minister of Finance Hany Qadry demanded on Thursday that the head of the RTA Samia Hassan set strict procedures to decide on the appeals and complaints of real estate owners, which is estimated at more than EGP 2m. Assistant finance minister Amr Badr claimed that tax raised from real estate owners primarily serves poor people and residents of informal areas.
