Egypt's governing military council has said that the country "didn't need outside finance."
Three things seem to have help it arrive at the decision not to saddle citizens with foreign debt: Firstly, both Saudi and Qatar have promised around $500 million each in assistance - apparently, on better terms than the cabal of international financiers; Secondly, the council also managed to pare it's fiscal deficit forecast from 11% to 8.6% of GDP - partly by reducing subsidies to industries, and partly by raising the income tax rate on firms and individuals earning over $1.67 million from 20% to 25%; and thirdly - and perhaps most significantly - the Finance Minister, Samir Radwan, revealed that the first draft of the budget was discussed with "activists, writers, the business community, trade unions and non-government organizations."
Overall, a very progressive move indeed. Godspeed, Egypt!
It's (Not) a Miracle.
-
I grew up with something maybe worse than a dead father.
I grew up with a dying father.
He had a massive infarction when I was in fourth-grade, when I w...
9 hours ago
No comments:
Post a Comment