Egypt moves to cancel planned increase in stock exchange duty

Egypt has drafted a law to keep a tax on stock exchange transactions at 1.5 pounds per 1,000, cancelling an increase to 1.75 pounds per 1,000 that was due to take effect on June 1, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

Egypt introduced the stamp duty at 1.25 pounds per 1,000 in June 2017, legislating for it to rise to 1.5 pounds in the second year and 1.75 pounds in the third.

The ministry said in a statement that the proposed change was designed “to reduce the financial burden on traders and support the activity of the Egyptian stock exchange”.