Kuwait: Financial transfers fell 9.2% in 2017

Remittances transferred by foreigners working in Kuwait to their home countries dropped by 9.2 per cent in 2017 compared to the previous year, official data showed yesterday.

The Central Bank of Kuwait data showed that remittances of foreign workers amounted to 4.14 billion Kuwaiti dinars ($13.7 billion) in 2017 compared with 4.56 billion dinars ($15.1 billion) in 2016.

Earlier in April, the Kuwaiti National Assembly’s Financial Committee approved a draft law to impose a one to five per cent tax on remittances by expatriates in the country.

If approved, Kuwait will be the first Gulf country to impose such fees on nearly 2.17 million expatriates working in the Gulf country.

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