The Cabinet approved a draft bill to settle tax disputes, which will have to be approved by the parliament to be implemented. The draft bill allows tax disputes to be settled by committees headed by experts who do not work for the tax authority. The settlement process would start as soon as an investor submits a request to the tax authority. As soon as the request is made, court proceedings would be suspended for three months.  The draft bill is an important tool for encouraging voluntary upholding of the tax law and aims to expedite dispute settlement with investors as well as create a climate of trust between investors and the tax authority, the cabinet said in a statement. Meanwhile, there are over 6,000 tax dispute cases worth about EGP47bn (USD5.29bn) in the court system, in addition to 150 civil disputes, Deputy Finance Minister Amr Al Mounir said. (Reuters)