Egypt cabinet approves raising minimum income tax threshold

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's cabinet has approved raising the minimum income tax threshold to 7,200 Egyptian pounds ($398) a year from 6,500 pounds, Deputy Finance Minister for fiscal policies Amr al-Munir told a news conference on Monday. The decision has yet to be approved by parliament. The Finance Minister Amr El Garhy said that the government has decided on a social security package for 43 billion pounds for the year 2017/18 beginning in July, including a 15 percent rise for pensioners and a 14-20 percent rise in salaries. ($1 = 18.0950 Egyptian pounds) (Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Hugh Lawson)