The Finance Ministry issued a decree last Tuesday amending how the value-added tax impacts the sale of used cars, El Watan reports. The ministry ordered that the VAT will be set as a percentage of the profit on the resale value multiplied by the schedule tax set in the VAT Act on cars (which differs depending on the engine size). The decision applies only to companies selling used vehicles and will not apply to private citizens looking to sell their cars, Vice Minister of Finance Amr El Monayer said, according to Al Ahram.

Will this help or hurt the auto industry? As usual, the spin depends on which side of the industry you ask—and in either case, repeated efforts by larger industry players to structure the second-hand market have largely failed: It remains dominated by sales between private individuals and bit players in the used market. The move will help create a flourishing trade in used vehicles, said Alaa El Saba, head of Saba Automotive. He tells Al Mal that his company will be actively selling used cars as a result of the decision, and that more companies might get in on the action. The auto distributors division of the Cairo Chambers of Commerce announced that the move would be detrimental to auto traders as it would significantly raise their VAT, Al Ahram reports. They say that the move could see prices of used cars increase 30-40%.

PSA: the Tax Authority would like to remind us all that tax returns season began on 1 January and will continue until the end of April. The authority has even taken to sending people SMS messages reminding them of the deadlines, Al Masry Al Youm reports.