28/03/2017
In a workshop organized
by Asharqia Chamber
The
head of the Zakat and Income Department in the Eastern Province Saleh bin
Hammad Al Hammad said that the Gulf countries are moving forward with the tax modifications
to achieve a number of goals, the most important is: achieving the financial
sustainability of the country so that it
can make long term plans without being affected by the fluctuation of oil
prices, as well as the use of taxes as financial policies in directing
investment and consumption in quantity and quantity, as is the case in the
developed countries, which the Kingdom participates in many international systems
such as the World Trade Organization on trade controls and fair competitiveness
and the G20, which means In a
large file taxes, money laundering and other files.
Al
Hammad said in an opening speech at a workshop organized by Asharqia Chamber on
Monday, March 27, 2017, that the Gulf countries have started discussing the
selective commodity tax for more than 10 years. The Gulf tax system team
participated in the selective taxation project and the legal team. Customs,
Saudi Food and Drug Committee, Gulf Standardization Committee and Executive Office
of Gulf Health Ministers Council. The Gulf Ministers of Finance approved 100%
on tobacco products and energy drinks and 50% on soft drinks based on the
retail price, expected to be applied in the second quarter of this year.
He
pointed that the General Committee for
Zakat and Income has equipped all the requirements for the application of the
system of human staff and technical systems and awareness campaigns and
introductory meetings and guidance.
For
his part, Deputy director of the indirect tax project in the General Committee for
Zakat and Income Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al
Duhayan said that the selective tax is a
mandatory financial deduction from the income and wealth of a natural or legal
person pays to the state free of charge.
He
said that the tax is two kinds that are directly borne by the taxpayer himself,
such as income tax on individuals and companies and the second is indirect to
the final consumer such as selective goods tax and value added tax, pointing that
the tax is a financial policy used by the state to: Foreign
investments in certain sectors or regions, motivating or discouraging
investments in certain sectors, addressing structural problems in the economy,
protecting citizens and the environment from damage resulting from the
consumption of health, environmental, social or economic harmful substances.
The
indirect tax is imposed on specific goods, including goods that are harmful to
health, the environment, and luxury goods. The selective tax also aims to
reduce the consumption of harmful goods, reduce the consumption of harmful
goods, specially
for children and young people, and to reduce the spread of diseases among
consumers from the health side. The economic aspect aims to
the
financial resources obtained from the tax for development projects and useful
programs, reduce the cost of treatment, and compensate the country fortunes for
what it spends to treatment of the affected people (the cost of treating
diabetes is about 25 billion riyals annually).
Regarding the implementation mechanism, Al Duhayan
said that the implementation of the system will start in the second quarter of
2017. The committee will process the
registration of the subjects, receive their statements, hold them accountable,
collect the tax amounts, checking and reviewing the issuance of permits and
licenses. Cooperation
would be carried out with the General Customs Authority in respect of the
collection of tax, import, export and transport permits.
Fines
will also be applied in case of late registration, submission of the
declaration, lack of validity or misleading data. In conclusion, Al Duhayan was honored with a memorial shield.
