Egypt's president ratifies amendments lowering income tax ceiling

Egypt's president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ratified amendments to the income tax law, lowering the tax ceiling and ending the wealth tax, according to the official gazette published on 20 August.

The amendments reduced the top income bracket to begin at LE200,000 per year, down from LE250,000. The tax rate for this bracket will now be 22.5 percent compared to 25 percent before the amendments.

A temporary five percent wealth tax had been imposed at the start of last fiscal year, affecting earners of more than one million Egyptian pounds. It was due to run for three years but the amendments have changed its duration to one year, meaning it has now finished and no longer applies.

The amendments also raised the upper limit of the first income bracket – which is exempt from income tax – to stand at LE6,500 per year, up from LE5000.

This raises the current upper limit for tax exemption to LE13,500 annually from LE12,000, as the income tax law stipulates that a maximum limit of LE7,000 in annual income is added to the exemption limit.