VAT

The Impact of VAT on Key Kuwaiti Sectors

This article was originally published in Kuwait Times. Decrease in oil prices have led the member countries of GCC in search for alternative means of revenue. One way was to introduce a common tax called Value Added Tax (VAT) in the region. On July 09, 2017 two members of GCC, Saudi Arabia and UAE ratified the VAT framework agreement for the introduction of VAT in the region. With a tax rate of 5%, it will be applicable in the entire...

How Inflationary is VAT in the GCC?

The residents of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who had long enjoyed a tax-free existence, were finally subject to a Value Added Tax of 5% on goods and services, from Jan 1st 2018. The introduction of VAT, which is seen as one of the biggest policy shifts in recent times across the region, is expected to bring in additional revenue to the respective governments. VAT being a consumption based tax, will have implications on customer spending as well as inflation....

Who should worry most about VAT in the UAE?

The article originally appeared in The National | Business. By January 1, 2018, it is expected that value added tax (VAT) will be applied at a rate of 5 per cent on most goods and services in the UAE and wider GCC region. The GCC governments will face a combined fiscal deficit of about US$350 billion over the next five years, according to the IMF, which bases its estimate on an oil price of $56 per barrel. This means that...

VAT in the GCC – How should companies prepare?

Preliminary details reveal that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar will be the first states in the GCC to adopt the new tax regime in January 2018. But, all members of the GCC are anticipated to implement VAT by the close of 2018. It is notable that certain essential food items and socially-oriented sectors such as healthcare and education will be exempt from the VAT regime. The approval of the GCC VAT means that the countries and the business...