IslamicFinance.de

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has directed the government to resolve a dispute with banks facing higher Islamic tax liabilities. The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) is demanding tax for years going back as far as 2002. Banks are contesting the extra payments, which are estimated at around 9.8 billion riyals ($2.6 billion) across 11 of the kingdom’s 12 listed banks. Although Saudi banks and other firms generally do not pay corporate tax, they are subject to zakat, a 2.5% levy on each bank’s net worth. Lenders and the authorities have been at loggerheads over the amount of zakat they pay for more than a decade. The dispute has captured more attention recently as the kingdom seeks to attract billions of dollars of foreign investment from global equity indexes. Bankers say the way the tax is calculated is opaque and the heavy financial demands on banks threaten the stability of the banking sector and capital markets.

In the face of plummeting oil prices, Saudi Arabia has announced an economic strategy to shake off Saudi overreliance on fossil fuels. In the 'Saudi Vision 2030' Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman proposed changes to generate $100 bn in additional non-oil revenue by 2020. In order to do that, the 30-year-old monarch plans to restructure Saudi Aramco, the state oil company. Less than 5% of Aramco’s stake would undergo an initial public offering, with an expected value of $2 trillion. The ownership of the rest to the company would be transferred to Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Prince Mohammed also called for the private sector to grow to 60% from the current 40%. Government services like education, health care and airports will be transferred to the private sector. As the country adjusts to the transition, economic growth is expected to slow as private sector expands.