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Jul 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Addis Ababa Goes It Alone with Record Budget

Addis Abeba has approved a record 350 billion Br budget for the 2025/26 fiscal year, the first in the capital's history to run entirely without federal transfers. Marking a 45.1pc increase over the previous year, the plan signals a bold departure from dependence on central government subsidies, e...

Jul 13 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW

Revenues Bureau Targets Landlords in Revenue Push

The Addis Abeba City Revenue Bureau has introduced a new directive set to reshape how half a million property owners report and pay taxes. In a sweeping overhaul of its rental taxation regime, and city officials claiming to bring transparency to a largely informal housing market, the directive mandates landlords to register every lease, channel rent payments exclusively through formal banking or digital systems, and apply a 35pc flat deduction on gross rental income before taxes are assessed. The authorities argue that their latest crackdown is a long-overdue response to chronic underrep...


Jul 13 , 2025 . By RUTH BERHANU

VAT Relief Sprouts in Addis, But Roots of Inequality Run Deep

The Addis Abeba Revenue Bureau has scrapped a value-added tax (VAT) on unprocessed vegetables such as onions, potatoes, and their raw cousins, marking a policy shift that could ease household food bills and support struggling growers. The exemption, grounded in a 2016 VAT amendment and reinforced by regulations issued this year, excludes raw vegetables from taxation, whether sold locally or exported. Fruits, for now, remain taxable. The shift is pitched as a relief valve in an economy still struggling with elevated food prices and rising formalisation pressures on micro and small enterprise...


Jul 13 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE

Parliament Draws Dividend Dispute to a Close

Federal lawmakers have finally brought closure to a protracted and contentious tax debate that has haunted financial institutions for over a year. In a move widely welcomed by banks and insurers, but not without controversy, Parliament amended the Income Tax Proclamation this month to exempt reinvested dividends used to settle unpaid subscribed capital from income taxation. The legislative fix ends an interpretive disagreement that had pitted tax officials against 25 banks and insurance companies, leading half of the 5.7 billion Br in tax arrears claims to be locked in escrow. Whether su...

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Jul 13 , 2025

Trio Courts Global Cargo Trade with Ambitious Transit Corridor

A multimodal logistics corridor linking Ethiopia, Djibouti, and China aspires to reposition Addis Abeba as a new fulcrum in Africa's freight sector. Backed by an unlikely but potent partnership, th...

Jul 13 , 2025

RINGING IN REFORM

A historic chapter in the domestic financial sector evolution was scripted last week as senior federal government officials convened to formally inaugurate the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX). Gov...

Jul 6 , 2025

Unity at the Budget Vote Tensions at Question Time

The federal legislature gave Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) what he wanted: a 1.9 trillion Br budget passed unanimously and without dissent. But what looked like a choreographed display of parliam...

Jul 6 , 2025

Addis Abeba to Launch Sweeping Crackdown on Construction Safety Failures

In a city rising skyward at breakneck speed, a reckoning has arrived. Authorities in Addis Abeba have declared a sweeping crackdown on unsafe construction practices, putting thousands of developers, c...

Jul 6 , 2025

Finance Ministry Mandates Open Access to Digital Payments in Public Sector

A landmark directive from the Ministry of Finance signals a paradigm shift in the country's digital payments architecture. Federal agencies are now required to accept a full spectrum of electronic pay...

Jul 6 , 2025

Awash Bank Stakes Claim in Budding Capital Market with Investment Banking Arm

Awash Bank has announced plans to establish a dedicated investment banking subsidiary with an initial capital outlay of 200 million Br. The move, touted by industry observers as a step signalling grow...

Jul 6 , 2025

Minister Habtamu Bets on a Smoke-Free Future While Flames of Doubt Linger

Habtamu Itafa's Ministry for Water & Energy unveiled a 10-year roadmap for national clean cooking last week, designed to replace traditional biomass cooking with electric, fuel-efficient, and sola...

Jul 6 , 2025

Tax Audits Unnerve Farm Cooperatives as Liabilities Mount

Fetena Shifa never imagined that an audit would threaten the future of the Bench Maji Farmers Association Union, one of 110,584 primary cooperative unions in Ethiopia. As General Manager of the Union...

Jun 29 , 2025

PRIVATE EDUCATION COSTS CLIMB FAST

Addis Abeba's first rains have coincided with a sweeping rise in private school tuition, prompting the city's education regulators to cap increases between 40pc and 65pc after most schools sought hike...

Jun 29 , 2025

Central Bank Claims Monetary Policy Overhaul as Forex Reforms Take Root

Central Bank Governor Mamo Mihretu claimed a bold reconfiguration of monetary policy and foreign exchange management, marking a break from years of fiscal dominance, closed financial architecture, and...

Jun 29 , 2025

Authorities' Crackdown on Road Safety Risks Testing Transport Sector Fault Lines

The federal government is betting on a sweeping overhaul of the driver licensing regime to reverse a grim road safety trajectory, but its single-minded focus on professional certification has sparked...

Jun 29 , 2025

Gadaa Bank Debuts on Securities Exchange

Gadaa Bank has listed 1.2 million shares on the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), becoming the second financial institution to go public after Wegagen Bank. The listing, done through an “intro...

Jun 29 , 2025

AG Meseret Flags Billions in Unrecovered Funds

The federal government continues to wrestle with entrenched fiscal mismanagement, a scathing audit report by Auditor General Meseret Damtie revealed. Presenting her findings to Parliament last week...

Jun 21 , 2025

ENAT BANK'S MEASURABLE EQUITY

In a landmark move to promote gender equity in the banking industry, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) has released its inaugural Gender Financial Inclusion Index, positioning Enat Bank at the foref...

Jun 21 , 2025

Real Estate Faces Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul

Officials of the Ministry of Urban & Infrastructure have tabled a draft regulation they believe will restore public trust and tighten fiscal discipline. Unveiled at the “2025 Ethio Real Estat...

Electric Blitz Strands Domestic Car Builders

A sudden ban on the importation of semi-knockdown and completely knockdown kits for gasoline-powered vehicles, a move authorities say rapidly accelerates a shift toward electric mobility, has left a b...


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Political leaders and their policy advisors often promise great leaps forward, yet they fr...

Editorial | Jul 12 , 2025

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Each June, Addis Abeba's high-altitude chill arrives with afternoon downpours, soaking sch...

Featured | Jul 6 , 2025 . By RUTH BERHANU

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Agenda | Jul 13 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Revenues Bureau Targets Landlords in Revenue Push

The Addis Abeba City Revenue Bureau has introduced a new directive set to reshape how half...

Fortune News | Jul 13 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW