Qatar’s 2019 Budget to See Surplus

  • Doha, Qatar
  • 14 December 2018
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The Ministry of Finance announced that Qatar’s national budget for 2019 features a small rise in government spending and the first surplus in three years thanks to higher oil prices and a new tax imposition. 

Spending is projected at 206.7 billion riyals ($56.8 billion) in 2019, up only 1.7 percent from the budget plan in 2018. That contrasts with a projected 20.5 percent jump in revenue to 211 billion riyals. 

As a result, the government expects to post a 4.3-billion-riyal budget surplus in 2019, swinging into the black after an estimated 28.1-billion-riyal deficit this year.

Much of the expected revenue windfall is due to higher energy prices; next year’s budget assumes an average oil price of $55 a barrel, up from $45 in the 2018 budget.

Qatar is also imitating Gulf neighbors in boosting taxation. A tax will be imposed by the beginning of 2019 on some health-damaging goods, including a 100 percent levy on tobacco and energy drinks, and a 50 percent levy on alcoholic beverages.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates introduced 5 percent VAT this year to reduce their dependence on oil revenues, but Qatar wants more time to assess the effects of VAT, a finance ministry statement said.

Source: (Arabic CNBC Website, Edited)