Second homeowners will be forced to stump up under legislation due for Jan 2013 (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt will apply a long-awaited property tax in January, levying progressive new rates on multiple homeowners in a bid to raise an annual LE2 billion in revenues.
The new tax was confirmed, along with further details of the 2012/13 budget, by the Ministry of Finance on Friday.
"The budget for the current financial year includes the new property tax law which will be effective from January 2013," said a statement from interim finance minister Momtaz Al-Saeed.
The new law will impose progressive tax rates on second properties worth over LE500,000 (approx. $83,000) or with annual rental values in excess of LE6,000 ($1,000). It aims to bring in LE2 billion per year.
Egyptians who own just one property, no matter its value, will be tax exempt.
This new, more progressive tax was first mooted in 2008 but was repeatedly postponed due to resistance from owners of large properties.
The budget for 2012/13, passed by Egypt's military council on 1 July after it assumed some powers of the dissolved parliament, aims to ramp up government spending, backing it up with increased revenues.
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