What we’re tracking on Sunday, 08 October 2016
Today is the deadline to register for the value added tax (VAT). The failure of businesses with annual revenues of more than EGP 500k to register to collect and remit the tax could result in charges of tax evasion.
Today is also the deadline for the government to release the VAT’s executive regulations. Tax Authority chief Abdel Moneim Mattar had said the regs would be out last week; other Finance Ministry officials have suggested a more flexible deadline.
Clinton, Trump to clash tonight after release of Trump’s vulgar 2005 video. The video is proving so toxic that the WSJ notes “GOP leaders turn backs on Trump” while the NY Times declares that “Lewd Donald Trump tape is a breaking point for many in the GOP.” We have more on the video in question in Worth Watching, below. The debate starts tonight at 9pm Eastern (that’s 3am CLT on Monday) and will be livestreamed on Youtube (with commentary from NBC) and Twitter (with commentary from Bloomberg).
Some inspiration for you this morning if you’re building or running your own business: If you, like tens of thousands of others, are reading this in your inbox this morning and not on the web, you have MailChimp to thank. The company is proof positive, the New York Times’ Farhad Manjoo wrote in a profile over the weekend, that “it’s possible to create a huge tech company without taking venture capital, and without spending far beyond your means.” MailChimp has 16 mn customers and will have turnover of USD 400 mn this year, but started as a side-project of a web design firm. Read “MailChimp and the Un-Silicon Valley Way to Make It as a Start-Up.”