New building reconciliation law gets committee approval: The House Housing Committee yesterday approved the new bill that will make it easier for owners of illegal buildings to go legit following three days of discussions. The legislation ⁠— which replaces a 2019 law designed to legalize informal buildings ⁠— will prevent structures built next to the Nile from being legalized. The committee also agreed that illegal buildings on archaeological land and public car lots will remain outside of the scope of the law.

There’s still no word on what happens to reconciliation requests that fall outside of the scope of the law. The new legislation will prevent some 920k buildings from being legalized, potentially resulting in their demolition.

REFRESHER- The original legislation gave owners the option to pay to reconcile illegal buildings but authorities have only responded to a fraction of the requests and fines have gone unpaid. Lawmakers are now drafting a new bill to replace the 2019 legislation, though the original reconciliation requests will remain valid.

What’s next: The new bill will now head to the general assembly and could be up for discussion and vote when the House reconvenes on Sunday, 18 December.

UNIFIED TAX PROCEDURES ACT-

Amendments to the Unified Tax Procedures Act get greenlight: The House Budget Committee approved a controversial one-article amendment to the Unified Tax Procedures Act that would allow foreign tax authorities to access individuals and businesses’ financial information. Policymakers have moved to assure the public that the law will not give the Egyptian Tax Authority access to personal information and is being passed to meet obligations required by the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, which Egypt joined in 2016.

Just for foreigners: The scope of the amendments is limited to foreigners whose financial and tax agreements could be a matter of information exchange among countries, Deputy Finance Minister Ramy Youssef said. He argued that a membership in the forum requires that countries exchange data on tax evasion, tax havens and others. “Countries that fail to comply with the forum’s obligations could face disciplinary measures, not to mention that international lending institutions could use this disciplinary action to strip failed countries of obtaining financial assistance in the form of grants and loans,” he said.

What’s next: The amendments will be up for discussion and a vote when the House reconvenes on Sunday 18 December.

DIGITAL EGYPT BILL-

Senators reject Digital Egypt fees: A final Senate vote on the Digital Egypt bill was delayed yesterday after a majority of senators rejected an article that would allow the Communications Ministry’s Digital Egypt initiative to charge EGP 100 fees for its services.

What they said: "We can’t approve any articles imposing fees on citizens at the present time and amid such hard economic conditions,” Senator Hossam El Kholy, head of the parliamentary group of the pro-government party Mostaqbal Watan said. The government stresses the fees are mandatory, with Deputy Communications Minister Khaled El Attar saying that the fees are necessary to have the initiative providing online services on a sustainable basis.

What’s next: Senators will debate the bill when they reconvene for the next session on Sunday 25 December.

ALSO FROM THE SENATE-

The Senate Housing Committee approved amendments to the 2008 Building Law that would ban construction outside approved urban areas, according to Al Mal.