Chairman of the Egyptian Tax Authority Abdel Moniem Matar said tax arrears of the General Authority for Petroleum, the Central Bank of Egypt and Suez Canal reached EGP 35 billion, noting that the authority is scheduled to collect such taxes in the fiscal year 2015/2016 as part of an effort to achieve targeted tax revenue of EGP 422 billion, according to a financial statement released by the Finance Ministry.

Speaking at a Ramadan sohour ceremony (pre-dawn meal consumed by Muslims before starting fasting) organized by the Tax Authority late Tuesday, Matar said most of the tax arrears in the fiscal year 2014/2015 came from official state bodies.

He pointed out that overdue taxes of the Central Bank of Egypt hit EGP 7 billion representing the profits of the CBE added to the profits of the banks bond tradings, noting that the General Authority for Petroleum has the lion share of overdue taxes.

He said tax collection for the other activities in the state is good, noting that tax arrears reached EPG 70 billion, including EGP 10 billion that were collected during the fiscal year 2014/2015