Egypt set to levy new tax

A new stamp tax on stock market transactions will be introduced in May. The new tax will levy 0.3 per cent on investors acquiring more than 33 per cent of a company. This is in addition to the 0.125 per cent tax imposed on buyers and sellers of stocks, rising to 0.150 per cent in the second year and 0.175 per cent in the third.

Amr Al-Munayer, a deputy finance minister, told Reuters the new stamp duty would be imposed on mergers and acquisitions in which more than 33 per cent of a company was being sold. Both bonds and shares are covered by the tax.

Egypt imposed a stamp duty in May 2013, but this was replaced in July 2014 by a 10 per cent capital gains tax that the government suspended a year later. The suspension was extended until 2020.