Affiliation:
1. Cairo University, Egypt
2. Georgia State University, USA
Abstract
Egypt, a country of 82 million people with a GDP of $272 billion, is arguably one of the most important countries in the Middle East. At this stage of its transition, the structure and level of public finances are more critical than ever. Like many countries, Egypt suffers from substantial non-compliance, which undermines the entire system of public finance, yet there has been relatively little focus on addressing this issue in Egypt. This chapter is focused on a review of the recent history of Egypt's public finances and a unique experiment that aims to better understand the potential for political institutions to affect tax compliance at a time when those institutions are under development.