Kuwait: New tax system amid widespread opposition

Traders, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, stand at the entrance of the Boursa Kuwait (Kuwait’s national stock exchange) building on 1 December 2020. [YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images]

Kuwait is set to implement value-added and excise taxes amid popular opposition due to the cash crisis resulting from COVID-19 and the instability of oil prices, The New Khalij reported on Friday.

According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas, Kuwaiti authorities purchased ITAS software to operate the tax system which the Finance Ministry will be installing.

The system is planned to be tested in September, The New Khalij disclosed, pointing out that the government and the Umma Council (parliament) are working on drafting and approving the laws needed for the implementation of these taxes.

In 2018, parliament pushed the Kuwaiti government to postpone the implementation of the tax system to 2021. Excise tax has been imposed on selected products such as tobacco, energy drinks and carbonated drinks.

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