Beesan Kassab

Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany. Broad exemptions in a new bill to levy a tax on all state-owned companies’ profits could allow the government to give favorable treatment to powerful state actors, sources familiar with the drafting of the legislation told Mada Masr. The measure is intended to raise public revenues by creating a payment obligation that applies only to state-owned companies.

New borrowing accounts for over half of the resources in the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, while 64 percent of spending is earmarked for debt service, according to a budget analysis report obtained by Mada Masr. The government has been at pains to improve debt indicators amid concerns about national borrowing and Egypt’s long-term ability to repay its debts. The chart below shows how spending is allocated in the draft budget.