Ending tax disputes is a way to increase investment incentives

Ashraf Hajar, a member of the Egyptian-Lebanese Association for businessmen and director of the Egypt and Middle East Center for financial and Economic Studies, stressed that ending tax disputes is a vital step towards enhancing investment incentives in Egypt. In response to the requirements of the tax community, law 79 of 2016 on ending tax disputes was renewed, as the number of applications submitted until December 2023 amounted to about 50 thousand applications worth 112 billion pounds. Committees were formed to end these disputes away from the judiciary, in addition to law 153 of 2022 on Overriding in exchange for delay.

Hajar explained that these legislations contributed to ending a large number of tax disputes and successfully increasing the tax yield during previous periods, which reduced the number of tax disputes and ended the deduction before it reached the judiciary, and increased trust between the financier and the tax authority. He also praised the law 30 of 2023, which provided important tax facilities for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs..

He pointed out that the Ministry of Finance has sent a draft law to the Council of ministers to renew the law on ending tax disputes and open the application for ending disputes until the end of 2025, after it was renewed twice during the last two years. The tax community is also waiting for the renewal of law 153 of 2022 on circumvention in exchange for delay to settle tax disputes quickly away from the courts, which facilitates financiers and stimulates investment, and ensures the acquisition of the right of the state.

Hajar stressed that all these facilities are in the interest of the investor financier and the state, as it ends the deduction and simplifies tax treatments for small and medium-sized enterprise owners, and encourages investment and the search for investment opportunities that support the Egyptian economy.