Egypt: Central Bank of Egypt defends bank accounts secrecy

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Egypt: Central Bank of Egypt defends bank accounts secrecy

Sponsored by

Eurofast Egypt
AdobeStock_79419266_Egypt

The head of Egypt's tax authority (ETA) Emad Sami said on August 26 2018 that an amendment to the Income Tax Act had been drafted to allow the finance minister to access corporate bank accounts to help combat tax evasion.

Central bank (CBE) governor Tariq Amer responded strongly to the comments later the same day, saying that the CBE would not accept, under any circumstances, allowing the finance ministry to access bank accounts belonging to corporations or individuals, adding that the CBE will protect the confidentiality of customer bank accounts.

Sami explained in a statement to Reuters that the amendment does not contradict the law governing the CBE or current judicial procedures. He stressed that the goal of this proposal was to reduce tax evasion and that not all accounts would be reviewed, but only those that provide unrealistic data. He added that tax inspectors would be allowed to review bank accounts strictly with the approval of the finance minister.

Responding to the storm of criticism from leaders of the banking sector, Sami stressed in an official statement that the ETA respects the law on bank account confidentiality, and that the confidentiality of bank accounts is guaranteed for investors.

According to Ruqaya Riad, legal adviser to the Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB), the possibility of implementing this amendment has been ruled out, due to the negative impact that it would have on the banking sector and the wider economy.

Egypt is seeking to grow its tax revenues by 4 percentage points of GDP (up from 14% currently). A comprehensive amendment to the full tax law is expected next year, including stricter penalties for tax evasion.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The threat of 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods coincides with new Brazilian legal powers to adopt retaliatory economic measures, local experts tell ITR
The country’s chancellor appears to have backtracked from previous pillar two scepticism; in other news, Donald Trump threatened Russia with 100% tariffs
In its latest G20 update, the OECD also revealed tense discussions with the US where the ‘significant threat’ of Section 899 was highlighted
The tax agency has increased compliance yield from wealthy individuals but cannot identify how much tax is paid by UK billionaires, the committee also claimed
Saffery cautioned that documentation requirements in new government proposals must be limited if medium-sized companies are not exempted from TP
The global minimum tax deal is not viable without US participation, Friedrich Merz has argued
Section 899 of the ‘one big beautiful’ bill would have spelled disaster for many international investors into the US, but following its shelving, attention turns to the fate of the OECD’s pillars
DLA Piper’s co-head of tax for the US and Latin America tells ITR about her fervent belief in equal access to the law, loving yoga, and paternal inspirations
Tax expert Craig Hillier agrees with the comparison of pillar two to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut
The amount is reported to be up 57% from the £5.6bn that the UK tax agency believes was underpaid in the previous year
Gift this article