The agreement, signed in Alexandria, implements directives from Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk to enhance communication with the private sector across the governorates.
Abdel Aal praised the ABA as one of the authority's most
active partners and acknowledged the positive movement in addressing
on-the-ground tax challenges. She stated that the ETA and the Finance Ministry
are currently preparing a second package of tax facilities, expected to be
presented for public dialogue by the end of the current month or early next
month, before an official launch early next year.
The second package, which has been presented to the Prime
Minister, is set to include significant facilities in tax refund procedures and
the simplification of services offered to taxpayers, she added.
Abdel Aal asserted that the first package of reforms had
achieved great success and contributed to increased voluntary compliance,
allowing the ETA to meet its targets with a 35% growth rate last year without
raising tax rates.
She noted that the second package incorporates proposals
from the business community during the first public dialogue, aiming to resolve
specific issues faced by certain sectors through proposed legislative
amendments.
The ETA head emphasized that digital transformation remains
a key pillar of the reform process, citing the success of the e-invoicing and
e-receipt systems in enhancing transparency and accurately defining the tax
base. She said the authority is moving away from traditional assessment methods
toward objective systems based on data and smart analysis to ensure fairness.
Mohamed Hanno, Chairman of the Alexandria Business
Association, thanked Abdel Aal for the meeting and praised the ETA's recent
efforts to simplify procedures.
However, Hanno noted that the business community still faces
difficulties with old tax files that require "fair settlement and
comprehensive liquidation." He stressed that many general problems could
be solved through executive decisions from the ETA head, and affirmed the ABA's
readiness to cooperate in providing practical proposals.
Samir El-Delgawy, Chairman of the ABA’s Tax Committee, highlighted the importance of integrating the informal economy to broaden the tax base. He praised the e-invoicing and e-receipt systems for achieving transparency and called for the new protocol to be used to offer practical solutions for tax issues and simplify dealings with the electronic systems.