“I don’t care about the details of the law, I care about the end result, which is price hikes,” said Nashwa Ahmed, a 29-year-old woman living in Cairo. She is referring to the new value added (VAT) tax law, approved last month by the parliament, which will be implemented in October. It comes as part of an economic reform carried out by the government in a bid to stabilise the economy and attract investments. However, people like Nashwa are more concerned how this will affect their daily lives.

“I don’t care about the details of the law, I care about the end result, which is price hikes,” said Nashwa Ahmed, a 29-year-old woman living in Cairo. She is referring to the new value added (VAT) tax law, approved last month by the parliament, which will be implemented in October. It comes as part of an economic reform carried out by the government in a bid to stabilise the economy and attract investments. However, people like Nashwa are more concerned how this will affect their daily lives.

Egypt relies heavily on imports, particularly food items, which leaves many consumers affected by increasing prices. About 27.8 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to a survey of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) in 2015. The new law is part of reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in return for a $12 billion loan. The money should support an economy that has been suffering since the 2011 uprising due to declining tourism and a lack of foreign investments.