Maait said in televised statements, Sunday, that the new taxes that are to be imposed after the adoption of the law by Parliament “will not affect the simple and low-income people, but all of them are in the interest of industry and investment, which benefits citizens, especially those with low incomes.”
The minister revealed that “what the government intends to impose is a fee of 5% on tickets for showing foreign films in cinemas, tickets for ice skating, diving and disco parties, tickets for summer concerts on the North Coast, and 10% on some imported recreational goods.”
The minister criticized opponents of this tax, saying: “People should not be upset. They are able and pay thousands to stand in the crowd and attend a party on the northern coast. They have to say take more and pay the state treasury a tax for it.”
Maait said: “We do not fight the rich, but this is the right of the state, and whoever wants to make himself happy and attend parties whose tickets cost thousands of pounds, this is his right, but we have the right to take taxes to the state treasury so that we can be happy as well.”
He stressed that the new taxes are “necessary in order to achieve peace and social security,” explaining that the state must collect taxes from the able to spend on projects that serve the poor, as he put it.
The minister stressed that “the new law did not approach Egyptian culture, theater and cinema, as some have promoted, and it will also cancel taxes on industrial, agricultural and investment activities to encourage them, with a value of 13 billion pounds that will be lost in the state budget.”
He said, “The budget requires 1,887 billion pounds in expenditures on salaries and all other items, while the new taxes after their approval will not generate more than 4 billion pounds only.”
He revealed that the new taxes will not affect cigarettes, stressing that there will be no further increase in fees or taxes this year.
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