This is what passes for economic commentary: It will take a lot more than tax incentives to encourage small businesses to go legit and join the formal economy, Ahmed Galal (briefly a cabinet member under the Beblawy government and perennial think-tank type) writes for Al Masry Al Youm. Businesses that operate informally do so to avoid the bureaucratic hassle that cuts into their time (as well as their profits) by requiring them to pay fees, taxes, social insurance, and the like. This means that any scheme designed to reel these businesses into the formal ecosystem must include guarantees that their profits would remain largely intact and measures to ensure easy access to bank loans and other forms as financing, among other perks.

Easy access to bank credit for a dude making EGP 1 mn a year who has never bothered to register to pay taxes? Genius idea.

Guarantees you won’t take home less by going legit? Does that qualify as Neo-Neo-Nasserism?