May 22, 2018
Taxes and Social Justice Policy Brief in Four Countries - Egypt

Background


According to Marxist circles, the history of the capitalist economy is the history of successive disasters. One of the most vivid examples in this regard is the history of the Egyptian economy, which has been characterized by successive disasters since the rule of Mohammed Ali and his family. Most rulers tried to uproot the Egyptian economy from its material factors to cope with the whims and prejudices of its regime.


The economic disasters had two main aspects; first, borrowing more than the economy’s potential to generate enough revenues to pay, second is the impoverishment of the people through unfair fiscal policies that undermine the rights and aspirations of citizens to finance government debts. This context of injustice and impoverishment shaped the history of the Egyptian economy in general and its tax structure in particular.


The Egyptian tax structure is still based on the problem of indebtedness. Every reform, adjustment or economic tendency, and every government decision refer primarily to debts and how to cover their cost. 


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This is a part of "Taxes and Social Justice Policy Brief in Four Countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine)" studies

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