Saudi Arabia said to hire consultant to advise on VAT

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) has appointed US-based consulting firm Oliver Wyman to advise it with the planned value-added tax (VAT) program, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported Saturday, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter.

The consultancy firm has formed a team to supervise the application of the new tax system and hire international specialists to serve in various positions at GAZT, in order to support the design and implementation of the target scheme.

Wyman’s appointment comes as part of the authority’s plan to ensure timely rollout of VAT.

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved the GCC’s unified agreement on VAT in January this year.

A five percent tax will apply in 2018 to select goods following the agreement introduced last June. This includes tobacco products, as well as energy drinks, while a 50 percent tax will be applied to soft drinks.

Saudi Arabia had already agreed to levy a tax on tobacco products, soft drinks, and other harmful products in the second quarter of this year.

The International Monetary Fund has recommended that Gulf states impose cost-cutting and revenue-raising measures, including value added taxes, to help their economies adjust to the low oil price era.