Egypt may apply stock market stamp duty in first week of June: official

Egypt expects to apply a stamp duty on stock exchange transactions during the first week of June, Amr al-Munir, deputy finance minister for fiscal policies, told Reuters Arabic.

The House of Representatives’ Budget Committee approved a week earlier a draft law submitted by the government that would impose stamp duty on stock exchange transactions, to be paid by buyers and sellers.

The duty has been set at 1.25 Egyptian pounds per 1,000 for the first year of the tax’s introduction, rising to 1.5 pounds in the second year and 1.75 in the third.

The measure, approved by the Egyptian Cabinet in March and originally expected to come into effect this month, must still be approved by parliament.

More than 270 companies are listed on the Egyptian stock exchange and more than 500,000 investors are registered to trade there.