Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian government approved a number of decisions to support the stock market and improve the investment and business environment. 

The government decided to cancel the stamp duty on stock market transactions for resident investors and deduct all fees related to trading and preserving shares from the tax base, according to a cabinet statement on Wednesday. 

In addition, the profit tax for new offerings on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) will be cut by 50% for the first two years starting from the issuance of the law and the payment of the tax will be delayed until the cash sale process is achieved, whenever the acquiring party is listed on the EGX.

Moreover, the tax rate on individual investors through stock funds will be decreased to 5% on the achieved profit and equity investment funds will be exempted from all taxes on shares.

Venture capital investment funds will also be exempted in case of trading in unlisted shares of start-ups, while taxes on policyholders will be reduced to 5% in the event of achieving profits.