Head of Parliament’s Housing Committee Alaa Waly officially says that Egypt’s real estate tax law has been approved and will be issued within a month, Invest-Gate reports.

Waly adds in a statement on December 25 that the amendments to the law consist of four articles, namely the pricing of the unit.

He elaborates that the amendments stipulate that the tax rate shall be calculated by the sum of the area of the taxable property multiply the estimated value per square meter of this area, after deducting 20% of the estimated value of premises used for housing purposes, while deducting 15% for those used for non-housing purposes.

The parliament has approved, in its plenary session on December 23, a final draft law submitted by the government on the amendment to some provisions of Real Estate Tax Law No. 196/2008.

Waly explains that the amendments state that the bound tax shall be due to the first estimate as of July 1, 2013, and as of January 1 of each year, in accordance with the provisions of the law; this estimate to be used until the end of December 2021.

In a separate context, Waly points out that the parliament will consider the suggestions of Hisham Talaat Moustafa, chairman of Talaat Moustafa Group Holding (TMG Holding), regarding a long-term mortgage finance system to stimulate the Egyptian real estate market.

During the “Urban Development and Industrialization” session at Akhbar Al Youm’s fifth economic conference, held on December 22-23, Moustafa called on the government to provide an alternative financing mechanism, such as funds to support the affordability of mortgage finance, to be able to serve all citizens; and thus, encourage them to own a housing unit and stimulate the real estate market in the coming period. He noted that the real estate sector contributes to 30% of the GDP.