The government prepares to cut taxes on low-income employees by about EGP 7bn to limit the negative impact of recent reforms, the financial statement for the new fiscal year (FY) 2017/2018 revealed on Wednesday. The financial statement showed that the Ministry of Finance tends to rely on external borrowing to finance the budget deficit, especially in light of high local interest rates. The government seeks to reduce petroleum product subsidies to 33% of the total allocations of subsidies in the next FY, estimated at EGP 330bn. The subsidies of petroleum products are estimated at EGP 110bn, while electricity subsidies account for about EGP 30bn. The funds allocated for social solidarity and solidarity programmes are set to rise to EGP 15.4bn in fiscal year 2017/2018, compared to EGP 10bn in FY 2016/2017.

Source: Daily News Egypt May 24, 2017 15:33 UTC