Parliament’s planning and budget committee on Tuesday approved funding of LE7.5 billion for the 2010/11 state budget, of which LE2 billion would be collected from new taxes on steel, cement and imported cigarettes.
The committee also suggested that LE3.5 billion of the total increase should come from borrowing and from bonds, while LE2 billion should be drawn from foreign loans.
Committee head Ahmed Ezz said that LE200 million of the new funds would be spent on increasing wages for specialists working in the health sector and LE600 million on raising the salaries of doctors and nurses, while LE200 million would be given to the Social Security Authority.
He also said new taxes would be levied on imported cigarettes only and not on locally manufactured brands. “Revenues from this new tax will be spent on state-funded medical treatment,” Ezz said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
