Minister of Finance Dr. Youssef Boutros Ghali sent letters to tax employees to allay fears in the wake of a presidential directive to merge both the general tax and sales authorities into one establishment.  Dr. Ghali explained that the primary objective is to streamline fiscal policies and encourage voluntary tax payments.  The Minister went on to say that the interim period may take years before transformation into a single authority during which period taxpayers will not be affected.  Dr. Ghali has meant to assuage fears that the new merger is not an attempt to reduce the work force or to give the lead to one entity over another, but to peacefully introduce global rules for impeccable performance.(Source: Al-Akhbar)