Friday March 29th, 2024
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Egypt to Tax Social Media Ads

Effectively increasing cost of advertising through traditional and social media channels by 20%.

Staff Writer

Egypt to Tax Social Media Ads

Egypt's Finance Minister Mohamed Ma'ayat announced that the government is now moving to enforce a parliament-approved VAT on advertising through social media and search engines, and goods and services sold through those channels, Egypt Independent reported Friday. 

According to Ahram Online, Egyptian MPs are pressuring the Finance Ministry to enforce the tax after they passed a widely controversial law that could possibly see Egyptian social media users with more 5K followers monitored by security forces. The tax is to add 20% to the cost of advertising through traditional and social media channels. 

The VAT reform program took off after Egypt struck a deal with the IMF by which it obtained a $12 billion loan back in 2016. The government aims to increase its tax revenue to EGP 32 billion for the current fiscal year. Vital products such as eggs, tea, sugar, and fish are exempt from VAT due to their impact on lower income Egyptians.