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Egypt freezes property tax – PM BY Ahmed Kamel - The Gazette on line Thursday, May 26, 2011 04:59:49 PM
Egypt has frozen a controversial property tax, according to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.
[Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf] Egypt's Prime Minister Essam Sharaf
Sharaf unveiled in a televised address Wednesday evening a raft of measures to boost the economy, which has taken a blow due to labour protests after the outser of president Hosni Mubarak in February. "If we can reduce petrchemical subsidies by 10 per cent, it will help us build 70,000 housing units, lots of hospitals, schools and universities," the Prime Minister said, adding that any reduction in subsidies would directed to the poor. "We will continue our subsidy schemes, especially food staples," he noted. Nearly 40 per cent of the population live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank. As for labour strikes, Sharaf said:" I like to call them human requests as sectoral protests are made by humans...It is hard to realise all of these requests. Many problems are not only financial, as they require administrative and organisational reforms. And it takes time." Sharaf said his government was committed to political, administrative and financial reforms. The political turmoil, sectoral protetsts and lack of security may reduce economic growth to one per cent this year, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook on April 11, the lowest annual rate since 1992. Last week, Minister of Finance Samir Radwan forecast a State budget deficit of 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2011/2012, which begins on July 1. Egypt is targeting growth of four per cent in the next fiscal year that starts in July, according to Radwan. On Monday, the World Bank said plans to lend $4.5 billion over the next 24 months, including $1 billion this year in budget support and another $1 billion next year, depending on how far political and economic reforms have advanced. The remaining $2.5 billion will be invested in development projects in Egypt, lending to support the private sector, and political risk guarantees. Earlier, Saudi Arabia agreed to provide cash-strapped Egypt with about $4 billion dollars to support its economy. web pagePosts: 1365 | Registered: Dec 2010
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