Vinod Nair
Muscat - Levying any sort of tax on remittances by expatriates is not in the agenda even as the country seeks to expand widen non-oil revenues. Speaking to Observer, Mohammed bin Salim al Busaidi, Majlis Ash’shura Member from Bausher, said that a few suggestions were made on this matter earlier this year as part of discussions on measures to overcome the economic crisis. He said it is not on the agenda. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has no plans so far to levy tax on remittances. “There have been reports in the past, but no discussions have taken place with exchanges on taxing remittances,” said Boban MP, CEO, Oman UAE Exchange. “Rightly, the government’s focus is on offering a favourable climate for foreign investments in the country.
We can already see their initiatives paying off,” said a senior economic analyst. It may be noted that the Shura Council had denied reports on a proposal to impose three per cent fees on the gross salary for expatriates as visa charges.“It was suggested by one of the members and the issue was not taken up for discussions,” the Shura had said in a statement earlier this year. Money transfers via the remittance route climbed 6.7 per cent to RO 4.226 billion last year, up from RO 3.961 billion a year earlier, the apex bank stated in its 2015 Annual Report. Remittances by expatriate workers surpassed for the first time the RO 4 billion mark in 2015, according to CBO. Money transfers via the remittance route climbed 6.7 per cent to RO 4.226 billion last year, up from RO 3.961 billion a year earlier, CBO said.
© Oman Daily Observer 2016
