The Saudi Minister of Finance and Minister of Economy and Planning in charge, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, stressed the importance of taking measures aimed at protecting the Kingdom's economy to overcome the unprecedented global crisis of the Corona pandemic and its financial and economic repercussions with the least possible damage.
Al-Jadaan pointed out that the Kingdom will take measures that come to complement the decisions taken in advance, in order to reduce the aggravation of the negative effects of the crisis from its various health, social and economic aspects.
He also revealed that the government continues to take the necessary decisions to protect citizens, residents and the economy early to reduce the exacerbation of the crisis and its consequences, stressing that the global crisis of the pandemic has caused three shocks to the Kingdom’s economy, each of which is capable of bringing about a change affecting the performance and stability of public finances unless the government intervenes with measures to accommodate these shocks.
Al-Jadaan disclosed that the approved measures had reached nearly 100 billion riyals, which included: canceling, extending or postponing some items of operating and capital expenditures to a number of government agencies and reducing the credits of a number of initiatives to achieve vision and major projects for the fiscal year 2020. It was also decided to suspend the cost of living allowance starting from the month of June 2020, as well as raising the value-added tax rate from 5% to 15% starting from the first of July 2020.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net website, Edited)
