Firms in new Suez Canal hub to pay only 10% tax

Monday, 16 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Egypt’s investment minister said companies participating in a planned economic hub in the Suez Canal area will pay 10% tax, just a third of the national corporate rate, state media reported on Friday. Egypt plans to build an international industrial and logistics hub near the Canal to attract foreign investment, alongside a scheme in which the army is digging a second canal to facilitate two-way traffic of larger ships. “Investment Minister Ashraf Salman announced that tax in the Suez Canal industrial, logistics and tourism hub would be 10%, because it is a special economic zone,” state news agency MENA said. Egypt raised taxes on wealthy individuals and companies by five percentage points in June. Companies earning over 10 million Egyptian pounds ($ 1.31 million) a year are now taxed at 30%, while those making less than 10 million pounds pay 25%. The consultant on the hub project told Reuters in December that the government needed to enact reforms to attract companies to the hub. – Reuters