By the Gazette Editorial Board IN firm clear language, the Governor of the Central Bank,Tareq Amer denied any intention to disclose details of the bank accounts of companies or individuals to anybody. Amer made the statement in response to a proposal recently made by the head of the Tax Authority, Emad Sami, about amending the income tax act to allow the finance ministry to have access to the bank accounts of companies or individuals, if tax officers suspected the nature of the activities or the veracity of the tax reports of some clients. The Governor confirmed that the Central Bank would continue to protect the confidentiality of bank accounts and would not allow any authority to have access to any accounts. Financial analysts have been quick to praise Amer's stand in defence of the confidentiality of the bank accounts of all clients, since it protects the banking system and the reputation of the Egyptian economy. Emad Sami was wise enough hurriedly to retract the suggestion so as to defuse the tension that it has produced and to prevent the negative effects that the banking system could suffer, if depositors rushed to withdraw their savings from banks. However, we should be aware that the main reason the tax official made his surprising proposal was the tax evasion dilemma, which loses the country an estimated LE400 billion or about $22 billion a year. This sum is almost double the foreign loans Egypt has obtained to implement its economic reforms. During the fiscal year 2017-2018, tax revenues amounted to LE628 billion, which was a 36 per cent increase on the revenues collected in the previous fiscal year. Taxes are the main source of income for the state coffers. So, the Tax Authority tries to increase its revenues year after year to help cut the budget deficit and raise the funds needed to provide basic services, especially in education and health, which are the sectors on which the government has promised to focus. Since people are sure not to welcome the imposition of any more taxes, it is quite natural for the authority to consider other ways of increasing its revenues, including the reduction of tax evasion. It may be wrong to consider access to bank account details, since that violates well-established local and international laws, protecting the confidentiality of bank accounts. However, there is still a need to find a legal way to counter tax evasion and force the wealthy to pay all the taxes they owe.
