A raft of new tax hikes, duties and development fees (pdf) proposed by the Madbouly government got the greenlight from the House Planning and Budgeting Committee yesterday, Youm7 reports.

The breakdown:

• Finished durable goods will be subject to a 2% development fee while locally-produced and imported soft drinks will be subject to a development fee equivalent to 5% of their values, with a minimum of EGP 0.25. Look for the Finance Ministry to define what qualifies as a durable good for the purpose of the development fee.
• ِAn entertainment tax: Entry to theaters, parks, clubs, sports events, and other entertainment venues would be subject to a 5-20% tax.
• Duty notfree: A tax will be imposed on purchases from dutyfree shops equivalent to 3% of the product’s value with a USD 1.50 minimum. The purchase of a single bottle of spirits will be taxed at the same rate but every additional bottle will be charged a higher 10% rate (or a USD 12 minimum). Members of the foreign diplomatic and consular workers are exempted from this fee, and dutyfree shops are obliged to collect the fee and submit it to the Egyptian Tax Authority.
• Stamp tax hike: Stamp tax on most ins. premiums would be raised by 1% under amendments to the Stamp Tax Act. This means that policyholders and ins. companies would each see a 0.5% tax increase due to a clause in the legislation that requires the tax to be split 50/50.
• Exit tax to double: The existing EGP 50 exit tax for folks leaving the country would be raised to EGP 100 across the board, with the exception of tourists visiting the Red Sea, South Sinai, Luxor, Aswan and Matrouh governorates, whose exit fee would remain fixed at its current EGP 50. The tax would not be applied to bus or truck drivers transporting passengers or goods out of the country.

Wait, we have an exit tax? Yes, indeed we do. We also have airport fees and other charges — all of which are embedded in the final price of your plane ticket.

This isn’t the first tax hike that has been announced in recent weeks: The government has hiked import tariffs on mobile phones, demanded illegal private tutors start paying tax on their earnings, and announced plans to get online content creators to pay income tax and remit VAT as it looks to raise revenues.

OTHER NEWS FROM THE HOUSE-

Who says your education is top notch? The House also gave initial approval to a draft law that would establish a national authority for quality assurance and accreditation in technical and vocational education, Youm7 reports.

You’re also going to jail for longer if you smack around your MD: MPs have asked the constitutional and health committees to look at a bill that would toughen criminal penalties for assaulting medical staff.