Egypt parliament approves tax increase on cigarettes

Egypt’s parliament voted on Tuesday in favour of an amendment of the Value Added Tax (VAT) law that increases the tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The amendment to Law 67/2016 was quickly approved by the Budget Committee in an urgent meeting on Tuesday morning.

A government document explaining the reasons behind the amendment said that the bill was submitted to parliament after consultation with "all concerned parties" and is in line with the 2017/18 state budget, which aims to close the gap in the budget deficit and keep it within safe limits.

The document also said that the revenues expected from the increase in cigarette prices will be used to spend on social protection programmes such as a new national health insurance system.