Egypt’s Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk took part in the inauguration of the HAPI Conference 2025, saying the Ministry of Finance is keen to meet the needs of the business community by translating their demands into actionable and executable procedures. He said partnership with the business community represents the main pillar of the ministry’s approach to building a trust-based relationship with taxpayers.

 

Kouchouk said the Ministry of Finance works in close cooperation with other ministries and government agencies as one team with a unified objective of providing appropriate services to citizens.

 

“We at the Ministry of Finance have four main priorities,” Kouchouk said. These include restoring the confidence of the business community as a key partner in success, adopting a balanced fiscal policy while maintaining financial discipline, achieving a qualitative improvement in debt servicing to ensure future generations do not face additional challenges resulting from current decisions, and providing finance for human development while introducing services that deliver tangible benefits to Egyptians.

 

Kouchouk thanked Egypt’s business community for its positive response to the first package of tax facilitations over the past year. He noted that private investment recorded growth of 73%, while tax revenues increased by EGP 600 billion without imposing any new burdens on taxpayers. He added that the ministry received 400,000 applications for tax dispute settlements and processed 650,000 new or amended tax returns, amounting to a total of EGP 80 billion. In addition, taxpayers voluntarily disclosed business activities valued at around EGP 1 trillion annually. “This is the result of winning taxpayers’ trust,” he said.

 

Kouchouk said the ministry last year launched a new simplified tax system for projects with annual business volumes of less than EGP 20 million, offering a package of incentives, including exemptions from several tax items, to enable growth and expansion.

 

He said the Ministry of Finance, in cooperation with the Financial Regulatory Authority, is exerting maximum efforts to activate the capital market through around 25 measures designed to encourage companies to join the Egyptian Exchange, within the framework of the second package of tax facilitations.

 

Kouchouk also highlighted the Egyptian Exchange as a key partner of the Ministry of Finance. He said joint efforts aim to increase the number of listed companies and facilitate their trading activities, which would boost overall market activity. He added that a special package of tax facilitations and incentives will be offered to companies that actively list on the Egyptian Exchange and achieve tangible results.

 

Kouchouk said the Real Estate Tax Authority will soon operate under a completely new approach, allowing taxpayers to access comprehensive information about their tax obligations directly through their smartphones.

 

Within the framework of the second package of tax facilitations, Kouchouk said three dedicated service centres will be established in Sheikh Zayed City, New Cairo and New Alamein City, offering a wide range of services, including technical support and advanced tax services through the ministry’s partnership with the E-Tax Company.

 

He added that this year an agreement was reached with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) to provide special support to the first 100,000 clients joining the new tax system, with the aim of increasing the number of projects registered under the formal economy.

 

“In partnership with MSMEDA, we intend to provide annual funding ranging from EGP 3 billion to EGP 5 billion for small and medium-sized enterprises,” Kouchouk said.

 

Kouchouk said a conference will be held soon in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment to explore the launch of a package of customs facilitations aimed at stimulating economic activity.

 

He said the Ministry of Finance has three key priorities for the coming period: increasing export rates, developing state resources and revenues while enhancing spending efficiency, and raising citizens’ incomes.