Egyptian streets: A ‘new tax’ imposed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on airline tickets has resulted in many angry and critical comments by Egyptians on social media despite the fact that the tax is in fact not new at all.
According to Egypt’s Ministry of Finance, the tax on airline tickets has existed since it was introduced by the late president Anwar El-Sadat in 1978 and President Sisi’s decree was an amendment to this tax. This was confirmed by tax specialist Hamdy Heiba, who said the president’s decree is simply an increase in the maximum tax that may be levied on airline tickets.
So how much has the tax increased by? For first and business class passengers, it was reported by a number of media outlets that passengers now face an EGP400 ($51) tax, while economy class passengers were reported to face a new EGP150 ($19) tax.
However, what media outlets failed to report was that the new tax is simply an increase of EGP100 ($12.70) for first and business class passengers, and an increase of EGP50 ($6.40) for economy class passengers.
When imposed in 1978, the tax on airline tickets was 10 percent of the total ticket price. In 1998, this was changed to five percent, with a maximum of EGP300 for first and business class passengers, and EGP100 for economy class. The Presidential decree issued by Sisi on Wednesday raises the maximum to EGP400 and EGP150 respectively.
According to the government’s official gazette, local students and students pursuing studies abroad, Hajj pilgrims, public sector employees travelling on official duties, and patients seeking medical treatment abroad will be exempt from the tax.
