LEGISLATION WATCH- Hotels and factories to be exempt from changes to real estate tax system? On the subject of the real estate tax: Forthcoming amendments to the real estate tax will only apply to residential properties, sources familiar with the matter tell Al Mal. The tax treatment of industrial and commercial properties such as factories and hotels will remain the same after new legislation is passed, they said, adding that the change of heart came after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi intervened. The ministries of oil and tourism had recently signed agreements with the Finance Ministry on the calculation of real estate taxes for their respective sectors as part of a broader overhaul of the real estate tax formula, which has been met with backlash. The Finance Ministry had said it was planning to introduce new “clear and simplified” guidelines for the treatment of oil and gas sector properties, as well as others such as hotels and airports. Changes to the tax system are meant to widen the government’s tax base and increase inflows into state coffers.