Saudi Arabia should consider raising a value added tax (VAT) to 10% from the cur...
DUBAI - Saudi Arabia should consider raising a value added tax to 10% from the current 5%, the International Monetary Fund said, stressing the importance for the world’s top oil exporter to improve its fiscal position amid lower crude prices.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s largest economy, remains dominated by hydrocarbon revenues despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s assertion that he aims to diversify. The IMF expects the budget deficit to increase this year to 6.5% of gross domestic product from 5.9% of GDP in 2018 as higher government expenditure is likely to curb the upside of stronger non-oil economic growth.
The fund said that “the fiscal pendulum had swung too far toward supporting near term growth and reform implementation” and that the authorities’ plan to balance the budget by 2023 was reliant on optimistic oil price assumptions.
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