The ministries of finance and investment are reportedly at loggerheads once more over incentives under the new Investment Law, government sources tells Al Borsa. Talks between the two ministries are ongoing, they added, without specifying which specific incentives in the draft may be points of contention. Last time around, it was the return of free zones — or any incentive in any form, really: former Finance Minister Hany Dimian was ideologically opposed to tax breaks and believed free zones made it easier for companies to dodge customs. Speaking on Hona El Assema this past Monday, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail did not deny there are disagreements over the bill when it was brought up at a cabinet meeting last week. The newspaper also shed some light on some of the incentives in the law, based on what it claims is a copy it has obtained of the first draft. Investment Minister Dalia Khorshid had warned earlier this week of being cautious about copies floating in the media. Besides free zones, the incentives reportedly include:

• Exempting labor-intensive companies in strategic sectors from paying income taxes for five years after their establishment;
• Imports of capital goods could see customs rates decline to 2% from a current 5%;
• All goods and services in free zones will not be taxed.

Nasr City Free Zone — also known as the bowels of hell — never looked so good.