As fighting in Syria becomes localized to only a few areas and the Syrian regime works alongside its Russian ally to send a message that the war has come to an end, it is likely that countries and businesses may increasingly begin to normalize relations with the Syrian regime.

The VAT Law is expected to streamline tax collection, broaden the tax base, and formalize the informal economy, bringing additional revenue to the government. The VAT Law replaced the previous sales tax scheme with one designed to make revenue collection easier and tax evasion more difficult.

The Investment Law aims to attract foreign investors to Egypt to revitalize the Egyptian economy. The financial rebates and tax breaks for factories included in the law are meant to provide significant incentives for companies to begin operations in Egypt.

To ensure the proper institution and efficacy of balancing measures, there is a need to systematically track, monitor, and analyze the impact of the economic reform program on Egypt’s economy and society.

In July, the IMF released its third review of the economic reform program, which, very much like the previous two reviews, was full of praise of the Egyptian authorities for the strong implementation of the economic reform program.

Nonresident Fellows Osama Diab, Timothy Kaldas, and Mohamed El Dahshan discuss the price hikes for the Cairo Metro, electricity, water, and fuel, their connection to the IMF loan, and their effects on Egyptians.

Efforts to control inflation and the budget deficit have led Egypt’s external debt to approach $90 billion—and could ultimately expose the country to risking default.

A television commercial showed beautiful young people walking out on their daily jobs, launching a homemade jam company, a food truck, or a designer furniture store. A voiceover promised that