The Saudi finance ministry said on Sunday there would be no fees applied on remittances out of the country, days after the kingdom’s advisory Shura Council said it was looking at a proposal to impose a 6 per cent levy on expatriate remittances.
Saudi Arabia is “committed to the principle of free movement of capital in and out of the kingdom, in line with international standards,” the ministry’s said on its official Twitter account.
Around a third of Saudi Arabia’s 30 million inhabitants are foreigners, many of them attracted by the absence of tax and higher pay than they can get at home.
But the country has been facing a budget squeeze from low oil prices and announced reform plans last year, which included a proposal to impose income tax on foreign workers.
Proposals endorsed by the Shura Council are not always adopted and the kingdom’s central bank governor and finance minister said in the autumn that there were no plans to tax remittances or income.
The country has already introduced a range of new fees to help close a budget gap created by low oil prices.
For example, the government has raised the cost of visas and introduced gradually rising monthly fees on expatriate workers and their dependents.
* Reuters
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
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