CAIRO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The Egyptian government's spending on subsidies rose by some 154 percent in the first five months of the 2008/09 fiscal year which started in July, the state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported on Saturday.
Spending on subsidies reached 34 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.13 billion), MENA quoted a Finance Ministry report as saying. Energy and food subsidies pose a significant burden on the government's ability to invest in areas such as education and health care.
But actual public spending on government investments increased 42.5 percent to 11.3 billion pounds compared to the same period a year earlier, the report said according to MENA.
Total tax revenues rose 40 percent in the period to 50 billion pounds. Revenue from income tax rose 33.3 percent to 18.3 billion pounds, helped by a 24.7-percent rise in corporate tax returns, MENA quoted the report as saying.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said in December that the government had set its target for economic growth at 5.5 percent for the two years starting July 2008 in the light of the global financial crisis. Egypt's real gross domestic product rose 7.2 percent in the 2007/08 fiscal year.
(Writing by Alaa Shahine) Keywords: EGYPT ECONOMY/ (alaa.shahine@thomsonreuters.com; +20 22 578 3 290/1) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Spending on subsidies reached 34 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.13 billion), MENA quoted a Finance Ministry report as saying. Energy and food subsidies pose a significant burden on the government's ability to invest in areas such as education and health care.
But actual public spending on government investments increased 42.5 percent to 11.3 billion pounds compared to the same period a year earlier, the report said according to MENA.
Total tax revenues rose 40 percent in the period to 50 billion pounds. Revenue from income tax rose 33.3 percent to 18.3 billion pounds, helped by a 24.7-percent rise in corporate tax returns, MENA quoted the report as saying.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said in December that the government had set its target for economic growth at 5.5 percent for the two years starting July 2008 in the light of the global financial crisis. Egypt's real gross domestic product rose 7.2 percent in the 2007/08 fiscal year.
(Writing by Alaa Shahine) Keywords: EGYPT ECONOMY/ (alaa.shahine@thomsonreuters.com; +20 22 578 3 290/1) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.