CAIRO, Aug. 31 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt's parliament introduced several amendments to the value added tax bill passed on Monday, including a reduced tax rate of 13 per cent instead of the 14 per cent proposed by the government.

The 14 per cent rate will be imposed next year.

The VAT is expected to replace the current sales tax and broaden the tax base by subjecting all services to the tax while maintaining the principle of exempting basic goods and services that affect the poor, according to a cabinet statement in May.

This comes as part of the government's reform programme which includes cuts to expensive energy subsidies and the introduction of other new tax measures, in an attempt to cut spending and meet conditions for a $12 billion three-year loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.

Besides the tax rate, the parliament made amends to the list of goods and services exempted from the VAT, adding some goods while eliminating others.

Aswat Masriya has prepared an interactive file showing the goods and services that have been exempted from the VAT after the parliament's amendments.

Click here for the file